Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said in an interview with AFP on Friday that his country’s new war with Azerbaijan is ” very probable “. He accuses his neighbor of leading a ” genocide of Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.
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“ Until a peace treaty has been signed and such a treaty has been ratified by the parliaments of both countries, of course, a [nouvelle] war [avec l’Azerbaïdjan] is very likely “warned Nikol Pashinian. Armenia and Azerbaijan fought two wars for control of Nagorno-Karabakh. The last, in 2020, resulted in an Armenian defeat, Azerbaijani territorial gains, and a fragile ceasefire.
Tensions escalated in early July when Azerbaijan on various pretexts closed traffic on the lachin corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. This Azerbaijani blockade has created a serious humanitarian crisis within the enclave, mainly populated by Armenians, with shortages of food and medicine and frequent power cuts. “ This is not a genocide in preparation, but a genocide that is in progress “, assured Nikol Pashinyan, accusing the Azerbaijani army of having created a “ ghetto in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Call for pressure from Westerners and Moscow to end the blockade
With the latest round of peace talks, held on July 15 in Brussels, failing to yield a breakthrough, Pashinian said the West and Russia needed to exert more pressure on Baku to lift the blockade. “ According to the logic of some Western circles, Russia does not meet all our expectations because it does not fulfill its obligations, but Russia tells us the same thing about the West “, he explained.
According to Nikol Pashinian, negotiations between the two rivals are hampered by “ Azerbaijan’s aggressive rhetoric and hate speech towards Armenians “. He accused Baku of carrying out a ” policy of ethnic cleansing”.
This enclave had already been the subject of a war at the fall of the USSR in the 1990s, which claimed the lives of 30,000 people. The more recent conflict, in 2020, left 6,500 dead on both sides.
Also to listenGreat report – In Armenia, the impossible border with Azerbaijan
(With AFP)