Karabakh Armenians see threat in new road construction

The appearance of a new road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia threatens to leave the Lachin Corridor, Berdzor and Akhavno unprotected by peacemakers, local residents fear.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that earlier this year, Azerbaijan began building a new highway connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, bypassing the Lachin Corridor. According to the project, the new road runs through the Khinshen community and close to the communities of Metzshen and Ekhtsaog in the Shusha District of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The residents of border villages in the Shusha District, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, have stated that the new road is not different from the Lachin Corridor – it passes through highlands and has numerous turns. And, judging by the project, the distance to Armenia will be longer than the Lachin Corridor, while a long road section will pass through the territory controlled by Azerbaijan.

"I don't know what this road will give us; maybe it will be useful, but at the moment we feel nothing but anxiety for the future of our children," said Frida Davidyan, a resident of the Khinshen village.

David Khachatryan, a Berdzor resident, has expressed the opinion that if the Lachin Corridor is closed, the peacemakers move onto a new road; and Azerbaijanis will move to settle in Berdzor and Akhavno; then, this will be "a start of evicting Armenian families from the region." He believes that at this stage the cohabitation of two nationalities is impossible.

Narine Asatryan, the owner of a public catering facility, said that she "won't leave Berdzor anywhere; and she hopes that Russian peacemakers will continue protecting her safety."

"We've just began recovering after the war. We believe in peaceful life. And now there are talks that the Lachin Corridor will be closed. And no one says anything about what awaits us. But we don't want to leave our homes again. People have no need of the new road," the woman has stressed.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 24, 2022 at 00:08 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.