Le Monde: Azerbaijan’s blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh must end

French newspaper Le Monde published an article on the growing humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Every day that passes increases the risk of a humanitarian disaster since the Azerbaijani president decided to subject Nagorno-Karabakh to an extremely harsh blockade. Three years after his victory over Armenian forces, Ilham Aliyev appears determined to maintain his advantage with the help of a passive Russian interposition force deployed after a ceasefire brokered by Moscow.

Since December 2022, tensions have been focused on the Lachin corridor, the only remaining link between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. After setting up roadblocks, officially for security reasons, Aliyev’s regime sealed off the route in July, barring access to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the last international humanitarian organization to be allowed access to Nagorno-Karabakh. More than 100,000 Armenians survive there, a figure that Azerbaijan disputes.

This international passivity, or indifference, has lasted far too long. The reopening of the Lachin corridor is a humanitarian obligation. Baku must understand that maintaining the blockade would only increase the instability from which the region has already suffered far too much,” the article says.