The first foreign minister of Armenia and the founder of the Heritage party Raffi Hovannisian was barred from entering the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) by Russian peacekeeping troops on Sunday, July 31.

Hovannisian was traveling to Karabakh to participate in the baptism of his grandchild in the capital Stepanakert, the party said in a statement.

"Showing him their commanding officer's order, along with an accompanying photo, the soldiers at the checkpoint didn't give any articulate reason or justification for the rejection, but confirmed that the ban could have come from "the very top" of Yerevan," the statement reads.

"The government of Artsakh, unaware and greatly surprised by such a decision, tried for a long time to clarify and then settle the illegality, but in vain. Its representatives did not rule out the possible connection of the Baku dictatorship to this permissiveness."

The party blamed the incident of the "failed leader" of the current Armenian government, which it said must resign to pave the way for "real regional peace and security".