With Azerbaijani demonstrators settling in for the long haul on the Lachin Corridor, Armenia is questioning whether Moscow is willing or able to end the standoff.
The territory has imposed price controls and rationing, and Azerbaijan has demanded that it be allowed to set up border and customs checkpoints on the road connecting it to Armenia.
The government has been facing calls, including from its American and European allies, to ensure that the former president is being adequately treated. But it accuses Saakashvili of faking his condition.
Residents of the territory reported disrupted deliveries of food and heating gas, and hundreds blocked from returning home, as the numbers of Azerbaijani protesters on the scene grew.