Karabakh authorities said on Tuesday evening that a pipeline supplying gas from Armenia through Azerbaijani-controlled territory was blocked by Baku in what they called an act of “humanitarian and economic terrorism” against Karabakh’s population.
The U.S. State Department spokesman, Ned Price, reacted to “reports of disruption to energy infrastructure” in Karabakh during a daily news briefing in Washington held later in the day.
“I want to be especially clear that … any disruption to energy infrastructure could precipitate a humanitarian crisis, especially as we’re entering the winter months,” said Price. “If deliberate, it’s unacceptable to target the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.”
The Azerbaijani authorities denied halting the gas supplies to Karabakh. They also claimed that traffic through the so-called Lachin corridor connecting Karabakh and Armenia was blocked by Russian peacekeeping troops.
“We call on the government of Azerbaijan to restore free movement through the corridor,” reiterated Price.
The European Union likewise urged Baku to unblock the corridor in line with a Russian-brokered agreement that stopped the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war. An EU foreign policy spokesman also expressed concern at “reports of Azerbaijan cutting off gas supply to Karabakh.”
The French Foreign Ministry went farther, saying that Karabakh’s vital transport link with the outside world should be restored “unconditionally.” A ministry spokesperson pointed out that the truce accord commits Baku to ensuring “the safety of people, vehicles and goods travelling along the Lachin corridor, in both directions.”
Armenia’s government charged, for its part, that Baku organized the blockade as part of its efforts to “cleanse” Karabakh of its ethnic Armenian population. It urged the international community to intervene to prevent a “large-scale humanitarian catastrophe.”
The Armenian Ministry of Health appealed to the World Health Organization for such intervention. It warned that Karabakh hospitals could soon face a shortage of life-saving medical supplies.
“We are waiting for their reaction,” a ministry spokeswoman told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Wednesday.
“As a result of Azerbaijan blocking the Lachin corridor the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are facing a health and humanitarian crisis,” tweeted Health Minister Anahit Avanesian. “People with emergency health needs cannot be transported to Yerevan, drug supplies and humanitarian aid cannot reach the population.”