Kyiv has long taken a pro-Azerbaijan position vis-a-vis the conflict with Armenia. Now officials say that Armenia and Russia are using the blockade to try to steal attention from Ukraine.
Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin Corridor comes as it accuses Armenia of dragging its feet over the fate of another critical route, the would-be Zangezur Corridor.
Armenia says the plan amounts to a territorial claim, while domestic critics say it is meant as a nationalist distraction to the country’s real problems.
As the blockade continues into its second month, local authorities have begun issuing food coupons and announced rolling blackouts. A brief internet outage contributed to anxieties among the besieged population.
The row over Russian troops stationed in the country comes as Yerevan calls for Moscow to step in and prevent a worsening humanitarian crisis in the breakaway region.
The country’s revenues from oil and gas, on which its economy depends, grew significantly in 2022, a benefit of the sanctions on fellow hydrocarbon producer Russia.
Azerbaijan has long opposed reestablishing air transit to and from Karabakh, though, and argues that it is Armenians who are refusing its offers to allow traffic on the road to resume.
