NEW YORK (Azatutyun) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has added his voice to the international community’s calls for the opening of the Lachin corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
A section of the vital road has been blocked by a large group of Azerbaijanis since Monday morning. They are demanding that Karabakh’s leadership allow Azerbaijani officials to inspect mining operations in the Armenian-populated territory.
“The Secretary-General is following with concern the ongoing developments around the Lachin corridor,” a spokesman for Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, said late on Wednesday, December 14.
“The Secretary-General urges the sides to de-escalate tensions and to ensure freedom and security of movement along the corridor, in line with the previously reached agreements,” Dujarric added in written comments.
The statement followed Guterres’ meeting in New York with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Mirzoyan briefed him on the situation around the Lachin corridor and stressed the “need for the international community’s targeted reaction” to its closure.
Unlike the United States and the European Union, the UN chief was careful not to openly criticize Baku for the road blockade.
