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.
Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, one of the government’s most vocal critics, was charged with hooliganism in a case many believe is connected to his activism. Now he’s on a hunger strike.
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.
The blockade appears to be part of an increasing pressure campaign on the road and the Armenians who depend on it, and the protesters appeared to be ready to stay.
As Georgia sees a surge in demand for cargo transit amid the Ukraine war, the government hopes to resume construction of a controversial deep sea port.
Baku is doubling down on claims Armenia is transporting weapons along the only road in or out of the region; Yerevan says the Azerbaijanis are faking the evidence.
Some Azerbaijanis cheered their representatives standing up to a Russian presence they consider pro-Armenian. Others, though, pointed out the hypocrisy.