The five-kilometer-wide Lachin corridor became Karabakh’s sole overland link to Armenia following the 2020 war with Azerbaijan. Armenian forces pulled out of the rest of the wider Lachin district under the terms of the Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the six-week hostilities.
The truce accord calls for the construction by 2024 of a new Armenia-Karabakh highway that will bypass the town of Lachin and two Armenian-populated villages located within the corridor protected by Russian peacekeeping troops.
Azerbaijani and Turkish construction firms have been rapidly building the 32-kilomer-long highway that will link up to new road sections in Armenia and Karabakh. Work on those sections has still not begun.
Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh president, sought to allay concerns about the loss of the existing Lachin corridor and its security implications when he spoke in the local parliament. He stressed that the route of the bypass road currently built by Azerbaijan was approved by Karabakh’s leadership.
“We chose what we believe is the best variant,” Harutiunian told lawmakers in Stepanakert. “It will be much safer and will address many security issues. We can explain why it will be much safer, but without making that public here.”
Harutiunian confirmed that the Armenian side will have to evacuate the few remaining Armenian residents of the town of Lachin and one of the two nearby villages, Sus. He said it still hopes to retain control over the other village, Aghavno.
“The [ceasefire] document says that we must pull out of the town of Berdzor (Lachin),” he said. “But with regard to Aghavno, we still have things to do. We are continuing to hold negotiations in that direction.”
“We will continue to fight for Aghavno,” stressed the Karabakh leader.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian indicated on Monday, however, that Aghavno will also be given back to Baku. He said the residents of this and the other Lachin settlements will be provided with new housing in Armenia and Karabakh.
Pashinian’s remarks angered many of Aghavno’s 200 or so residents. Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service earlier this week, they said they have no intention to leave their homes.
“God forbid that such a thing happens,” one of them said. “I don’t know how the people will react. No other place can replace Aghavno, not even the center of Yerevan.”
“If Armenia is abandoning us … then Artsakh (Karabakh) will take care of us and we will stay here,” said another villager.