Lachin corridor

2020–2022 map of the Lachin corridor following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement. The new route currently in use is located to the south of the Goris-Stepanakert highway.

Checkpoint in the Lachin corridor in 2017

The Lachin corridor (Armenian: Լաչինի միջանցք, romanized: Lachini mijantsk; Azerbaijani: Laçın dəhlizi or Laçın koridoru; Russian: Лачи́нский коридо́р, romanized: Lachinskiy koridor) is a mountain road that links Armenia and the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. The corridor is de jure in the Lachin District of Azerbaijan, but is under the control of a Russian peacekeeping force as provided for in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh armistice agreement. The territory of the corridor covered the villages of Zabukh, Sus and the city of Lachin itself until 2022. On 26 August 2022, these settlements were returned under the control of Azerbaijan. Four days later, a new route to the south was opened for use that bypasses the settlements of Zabukh, Sus and Lachin and instead passes by the villages of Mets Shen/Kichik Galadarasi and Hin Shen/Kirov.

The armistice agreement provided:

The Republic of Armenia shall return [...] the Lachin District by 1 December [2020]. The Lachin corridor (5 km (3.1 mi) wide), which will provide access from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and bypass the town of Shusha, shall remain under the control of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation. Subject to agreement by the Parties, a construction plan will be determined in the next three years for a new route of movement along the Lachin corridor, providing a link between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia with the subsequent redeployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to guard this route. The Republic of Azerbaijan shall guarantee the safety of traffic of citizens, vehicles, and goods along the Lachin corridor in both directions.

History

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War from 1988 to 1994, the corridor came under the control of the Artsakh Defence Army. For administration purposes, it was part of the Republic of Artsakh's Kashatagh Province. In a statement to the United Nations on 18 September 2005, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, said "It is the issue of communication of the Armenians living in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan with Armenia and that of the Azerbaijanis living in the Nakhchivan region of Azerbaijan with the rest of the country. We suggest the using of the so-called Lachin corridor – which should be called "Road of Peace" – by both sides in both directions provided that security of this road will be ensured by the multinational peacekeeping forces at the initial stage".

In the aftermath of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, which ended with a Russian-brokered armistice, the Lachin corridor became the sole connection between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Current situation

According to the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, a new corridor was going to be built in the region as the Lachin corridor passes through the city of Lachin, and when this corridor is ready, the city will be returned to the Azerbaijani administration.

Following the ceasefire, around 200 Armenians remained in the Lachin corridor, with 30 of them in Sus, 100–120 in Lachin and over 40 in Zabukh (Aghavno).

In March 2021, a journalist for BBC visited the road, reporting that "since the war, Armenians have had no control over who and what uses this road", adding that the control is now up to the Russians.

In August 2022, Azerbaijan built its part of the road around Lachin, while Armenia did not yet. On 2 August, the local Armenian authorities reported that the Azerbaijani side had conveyed to them a demand to organize communication with Armenia along a different route, bypassing the existing one. Following the renewed clashes around Lachin, Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, stated that Azerbaijan's demand for the Lachin corridor was unlawful, since the Armenian side has not yet agreed to any plan for the construction of a new road. Azerbaijan accused Armenia of delaying the construction of its part of the road, while the part for which Azerbaijan was responsible had already been built. On 4 August, the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia, Gnel Sanosyan, stated that the construction of an alternative road to Lachin was actively underway and would be completed the spring of 2023. On 5 August, local Armenian authorities told the residents of Lachin, as well as Zabukh and Sus, to leave their homes by 25 August, after which the towns would be handed over to Azerbaijan. Some of the Armenian inhabitants burned their houses down. As of 26 August, Azerbaijan regained control of villages in the Lachin corridor, including Lachin, Sus, and Zabukh. Soon after, the planned alternate route to the south that passes by the villages of Mets Shen/Boyuk Galadarasi and Hin Shen/Kichik Galadarasi (formerly Kirov) was opened for use.

See also

• Lachin offensive

External links

• Armenians and Azerbaijanis Commemorate Two Years Since Breakout of April War