YEREVAN. July 14 (Interfax) - Gurgen Nersisyan, state minister of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic, has begun negotiations with the command of the Russian peacekeeping force near Stepanakert to demand the unblocking of the Lachin corridor.
Thousands of people gathered in Stepanakert on Friday morning for a protest rally to present a demand to Azerbaijan, the Russian peacekeepers, and the international community that the Lachin corridor linking Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia be unblocked.
"We are beginning negotiations with the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. Prior to this, we're pitching tents [in front of the peacekeeping force's headquarters] and are waiting for our demands to be met. We are here to tell the peacekeepers that, if one of the parties to the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, is failing to honor its obligations, Artsakh [the Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh] residents shouldn't shoulder the grave consequences of this. We are here also to tell the peacekeepers that helicopter flights performed every day [by Russian peacekeepers] amid Artsakh's complete blockade are not a manifestation of friendliness," Nersisyan said.
The protests will be open-ended, Nersisyan said.
"I'd like to ask the international community, the Republic of Armenia, and the Russian Federation: What are you waiting for? Do you really want people to die on this square every day for you to respond? We've been through huge problems, and these problems have now worsened and are unbearable," he said.
The Nagorno-Karabakh government office in Armenia also plans to arrange protests to demand the Lachin corridor be unblocked in front of the Russian embassy and the UN office in Yerevan on July 15.
Following the meeting, Nersisyan told the demonstrators who have gathered near the headquarters that the command of the Russian peacekeepers "has committed to sending information on the situation in Artsakh to Russia on a daily basis."
"They have admitted that they need to work to normalize the situation and resolve the humanitarian crisis as soon as possible," Nersisyan said.
He called on the protesters to stay in the tents pitched in front of the headquarters and continue the demonstration. "I am calling on you to join in the struggle," he said.