The subject of sending UN peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh has repeatedly been on the agenda but any mission is possible only if both conflicting sides, Baku and Yerevan, consent, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday, TASS reports.
Earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Russia can initiate the deployment of a multinational mission to Nagorno-Karabakh at the UN Security Council if it is "incapable of fulfilling its obligations."
"Interaction is underway at various levels. Undoubtedly, this subject has been on the agenda repeatedly. Yet it is clear that any mission can be sent only with the consent of both sides of the conflict," the Kremlin official said replying to a question as to whether this subject was discussed by the leaders of Russia and Armenia.
The Lachin Corridor is the only road linking Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. On December 12, 2022, a group of Azerbaijanis, who claimed they were environmentalists, blocked the Lachin Corridor, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent was temporarily stationed. Baku argued that the purpose of the protest action was not to block any road, and that civilian vehicles were free to move in both directions.
Yerevan viewed the move as a provocation by Baku aimed at creating a humanitarian disaster in the unrecognized republic. Pashinyan told a government meeting that Nagorno-Karabakh was experiencing a food shortage amid the blocking of the corridor. On December 14, 2022, Armenia demanded that the European Human Rights Court oblige Azerbaijan to unblock the Lachin Corridor.
