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Lachin corridor

Coordinates: 39°36′31″N 46°32′41″E / 39.60861°N 46.54472°E / 39.60861; 46.54472
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2020–2022 map of the Lachin corridor following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement. The new route currently in use is located to the south of the Goris-Stepanakert highway.
Checkpoint in the Lachin corridor in 2017

The Lachin corridor (Template:Lang-hy; Template:Lang-az or Laçın koridoru; Template:Lang-ru) is a mountain road that links Armenia and the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.[1] Being the only road between these two territories, it is has been often described as a "lifeline" for the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh.[2] The corridor is de jure in the Lachin District of Azerbaijan, but is under the control of a Russian peacekeeping force as provided for in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh armistice agreement. The territory of the corridor included the villages of Zabukh, Sus and the city of Lachin itself until 2022. On 26 August 2022, these settlements were transferred to Azerbaijani control. Four days later, a new route to the south was opened for use that bypasses the settlements of Zabukh, Sus and Lachin and instead passes by the villages of Mets Shen/Boyuk Galadarasi and Hin Shen/Kirov.[3]

The armistice agreement provided:

The Republic of Armenia shall return [...] the Lachin District by 1 December [2020]. The Lachin corridor (5 km (3.1 mi) wide), which will provide access from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and bypass the town of Shusha, shall remain under the control of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation. Subject to agreement by the Parties, a construction plan will be determined in the next three years for a new route of movement along the Lachin corridor, providing a link between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia with the subsequent redeployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to guard this route. The Republic of Azerbaijan shall guarantee the safety of traffic of citizens, vehicles, and goods along the Lachin corridor in both directions.

From 13 December 2022, a group of Azerbaijani citizens self-identifying as eco-activists blocked the Lachin corridor, leaving 1,100 people, including 270 children, unable to return to their homes. This was followed by Azerbaijan cutting off the gas supply from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabach, putting the 120,000 Armenian residents of Nagorno-Karabakh at risk of humanitarian crisis.[4] Three days later the gas supply was restored. [5]

Geopolitical importance to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

'When they [the Artsakh defence force] opened up the corridor, Karabakh finally began to breathe again,'

—Lenser Agolovyan, a Karabakh representative in Yerevan [2]


“What if we were to install a [border] post at the entrance of Lachin and finish the whole process? How can you breathe with no air?”

— anonymous senior Azerbaijani official [6]








Being the only road that connects Nagorno-Karabakh to the Republic of Armenia, it has often been described as a "lifeline" to and for residents of Nagorno-Karabakh.[2][7][8][9]

History

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the Lachin corridor was blockaded by Azerbaijani forces for four years (August 1988 to May 1992)[10]. In June 1992, the corridor came under the control of the Artsakh Defence Army.[2] For administrative purposes, it was part of the Republic of Artsakh's Kashatagh Province. In a statement to the United Nations on 18 September 2005, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, said "It is the issue of communication of the Armenians living in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan with Armenia and that of the Azerbaijanis living in the Nakhchivan region of Azerbaijan with the rest of the country. We suggest the using of the so-called Lachin corridor – which should be called "Road of Peace" – by both sides in both directions provided that security of this road will be ensured by the multinational peacekeeping forces at the initial stage".[11]

In the aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, which ended with a Russian-brokered armistice, the Lachin corridor became the sole connection between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Current situation

See also: 2022 blockade of the Republic of Artsakh

According to the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, a new corridor will be built in the region, as the Lachin corridor passes through the city of Lachin. When this new corridor is completed, the city will revert to Azerbaijani administration.[12]

Following the ceasefire, around 200 Armenians remained in the Lachin corridor, with 30 of them in Sus, 100 to 120 in Lachin, and over 40 in Zabukh (Aghavno).[13]

In March 2021, a journalist for BBC visited the road, reporting that "since the war, Armenians have had no control over who and what uses this road", adding that control is now up to the Russians.[14]

In August 2022, Azerbaijan built its part of the road around Lachin, while Armenia had not. On 2 August, the local Armenian authorities reported that the Azerbaijani side had conveyed to them a demand to organize communication with Armenia along a different route, bypassing the existing one.[15] Following the renewed clashes around Lachin, Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan stated that Azerbaijan's demand for the Lachin corridor was unlawful, since the Armenian side has not yet agreed to any plan for the construction of a new road. Azerbaijan accused Armenia of delaying the construction of its part of the road, while the part for which Azerbaijan was responsible had already been built. On 4 August, the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia, Gnel Sanosyan, stated that the construction of an alternative road to Lachin was actively underway and would be completed the spring of 2023.[16] On 5 August, local Armenian authorities told the residents of Lachin, as well as Zabukh and Sus, to leave their homes by 25 August, after which the towns would be handed over to Azerbaijan.[17][18] Some of the Armenian inhabitants burned their houses down.[19] As of 26 August, Azerbaijan regained control of villages in the Lachin corridor, including Lachin, Sus, and Zabukh.[20] Soon after, the alternate route to the south that passes by the villages of Mets Shen/Boyuk Galadarasi and Hin Shen/Kichik Galadarasi (formerly Kirov) opened for use .[3] In December 2022, Azerbaijan blocked the corridor, creating a humanitarian catastrophe for the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan's actions were condemned by the UN Secretary General, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Russia, Canada, and a number of other countries.[21][22][23][24][25]

On 13 December 2022 a group of Azerbaijani citizens self-identifying as eco-activists blocked the Lachin corridor, leaving 1,100 people, including 270 children, unable to return to their homes. This was followed by Azerbaijan cutting off the gas supply from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabach, putting the 120,000 Armenian residents of Nagorno-Karabakh at risk of humanitarian crisis.[4] Three days later the gas supply was restored.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Azerbaijan enters Nagorno-Karabakh district after peace deal". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera. 20 November 2020. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. The Russian peacekeeping force of some 2,000 troops has deployed to the administrative centre of the region, Stepanakert, and set up checkpoints and observation posts along the strategic Lachin corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
  2. ^ a b c d "Lachin is a ghost-town -- a crowd of burned-out,..." UPI. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b Shahverdyan, Lilit; Kucera, Joshua (15 September 2022). "Armenians warily travel along "the new road" to Karabakh | Eurasianet". Eurasianet. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Lachin corridor still closed". JAM-news.net. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Gas restored to Karabakh, but road remains closed for fifth day | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Fears for new Nagorno-Karabakh crisis as Azerbaijan threatens key road link | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  7. ^ "The Lachin Corridor: Russian Peacekeepers Securing Artsakh's Lifeline". CIVILNET. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Fears for new Nagorno-Karabakh crisis as Azerbaijan threatens key road link | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Blockade of the Lachin corridor to Nagorno-Karabakh". Globe Echo. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Dates and facts around Nagorno-Karabakh's 30-year long conflict". euronews. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  11. ^ "UN General Assembly 2005" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  12. ^ "İlham Əliyev: "Yeni dəhliz hazır olandan sonra Laçın şəhəri bizə qaytarılacaq"". BBC Azerbaijani Service (in Azerbaijani). 1 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  13. ^ Sara Petrosyan (22 February 2021). "Փոքրաթիվ հայեր դեռևս բնակվում են Քաշաթաղում, բայց դա ռուսների քմահաճույքով է պայմանավորված". hetq.am. Hetq. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Who Won the Karabakh War?". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Обострение в Нагорном Карабахе: что происходит и почему это важно" – via www.bbc.com.
  16. ^ "Новая война в Карабахе? В Баку и Ереване винят друг друга и оглядываются на Москву" – via www.bbc.com.
  17. ^ "Lachin residents given 20 days to leave homes ahead of Azerbaijan handover". OC Media. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  18. ^ LLC, Helix Consulting. "Айк Ханумян предупредил жителей Ахавно и Бердзора, что до 25 августа они должны покинуть свои дома – главы общин - aysor.am - Горячие новости из Армении". www.aysor.am.
  19. ^ Узел, Кавказский. "Азербайджанские пожарные прибыли в Лачин после поджогов армянами своих домов". Кавказский Узел. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Azerbaijani forces are stationed in Lachin, Karabakh: President Aliyev". Daily Sabah. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  21. ^ "Foreign Ministry calls on Azerbaijan to end Lachin corridor blockade | eKathimerini.com". www.ekathimerini.com.
  22. ^ "UN Chief Urges Reopening Of Karabakh-Armenia Corridor". www.azatutyun.am.
  23. ^ "Lachin Corridor: Greece calls on Azerbaijani authorities to ensure security of movement". news.am.
  24. ^ "French Foreign Ministry urges to resume traffic via Lachin corridor". tass.com.
  25. ^ "Reports are concerning: Dutch PM comments on situation in Lachin Corridor". armenpress.am.
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39°36′31″N 46°32′41″E / 39.60861°N 46.54472°E / 39.60861; 46.54472

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