Armenia Seeks Mediation as Azerbaijan Standoff Stokes War Fears

Armenia appealed to the US, Europe and Iran to help defuse a standoff with neighboring Azerbaijan over blocked aid deliveries to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which have raised tensions to their highest point since a 2020 war.

(Bloomberg) — Armenia appealed to the US, Europe and Iran to help defuse a standoff with neighboring Azerbaijan over blocked aid deliveries to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which have raised tensions to their highest point since a 2020 war.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held phone talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, his office said in a statement on Saturday. Pashinyan told Blinken he’s ready for urgent talks with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, according to the statement.

Azerbaijan faces mounting pressure from the US and Europe to reopen the Lachin corridor, a road link connecting Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia that it blocked in December. Humanitarian aid was last delivered along the route on June 15, Armenian officials say. In July, Pashinyan warned of the risk of a new war with Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan denies imposing a blockade, though dozens of trucks from Armenia loaded with aid have been held up at the border for weeks. The blockade has led to shortages of food and essential goods for the territory’s Armenian population, which local officials put at 120,000.

Read More: Armenian Separatist Chief Quits in Aid Clash With Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is pressing for aid deliveries to be accepted along an alternative road from its territory, insisting that Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population should accept their integration into the country following the war that killed thousands on both sides. But Armenians in the region are refusing the aid. Armenia has effectively accepted Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over the area though it’s seeking international guarantees of its security.

Russian peacekeeping troops control the corridor under a truce deal brokered by President Vladimir Putin that ended the war, but haven’t intervened. Tensions increased this month with intense shelling causing deaths and injuries among Armenian and Azerbaijani troops. Both countries have accused each other of building up troops on their border.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Iranian military officials arrived in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, the defense ministry there said Saturday. They held meetings with Azerbaijan’s defense minister and other military officials.

Iran has strong ties to its neighbor Armenia, which has also been moving closer to the US and its allies amid disappointment over a lack of support from Russia.

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