The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh

Emergency aid to Nagorno-Karabakh. Hayk Manukyan / AP  

 

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh 

Transport routes reopen in Nagorno-Karabakh  

 

The ethnically Armenian local authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh have agreed to let in emergency aid from other parts of Azerbaijan in exchange for restored road links to Armenia, Reuters reports.  

 

This would mean that the transport routes are reopened for the first time in three decades. 

 

"At the same time, an agreement has been reached to restore humanitarian transport by Russian peacekeeping forces and the Red Cross through the Latin Corridor," writes the state-run Armenian news agency Armenpress, referring to the strip of land that runs between the region and Armenia.  

 

Nagorno-Karabakh is contained by Azerbaijan and is internationally recognized as part of the country, but is populated by ethnic Armenians who have declared self-rule.  

 

Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. Sergei Grits / AP  

 

Growing tensions between Russia and Armenia 

 

On Friday, the Kremlin summoned Armenia's ambassador to mark what the Russian Foreign Ministry calls "a series of unfriendly actions" from the Armenian side in recent days, reports AFP.  

 

Among other things, the joint military exercises held by Armenia with the United States, the trip of the prime minister's wife to Kyiv and the country's steps towards joining the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant against Putin, were listed. 

 

The two countries are allies, but Armenia has become increasingly critical of Russian peacekeeping forces' handling of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. During the summer, there were alarms about famine and "a new genocide against Armenians" in the region, where Azerbaijan imposed a blockade.