Azerbaijan cuts off gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh

Azerbaijan cut off the gas supply from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh. This was announced by the information headquarters of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on Friday, March 10.

“The Azerbaijani side has just once again blocked the supply of gas from Armenia to Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh. – Ed.). Please strictly follow the safety rules,” reads the Telegram channel of the headquarters.

The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border escalated in the fall of 2022. Yerevan and Baku accused each other of the escalation, and also reported deaths from each side as a result of shelling.

On November 1, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agreed to refrain from the use of force, discuss and resolve all problematic issues solely on the basis of mutual recognition of sovereignty.

In September 2020, the Azerbaijani armed forces occupied a number of villages and strategic heights in the Fizuli and Jabrayil regions, adjacent to the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh. Two months later, Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the participation of Russia, signed an agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. The document, among other things, provided for the introduction of Russian peacekeepers into the region, the exchange of prisoners between the parties to the conflict, the transfer by Armenia to Azerbaijan of a number of regions of the region and the return of refugees to Karabakh.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have disputed ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Then the region, which is inhabited mainly by Armenians, announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan SSR. During the military conflict of 1992-1994, Baku lost control over Karabakh.

 

Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS