Macron to come up with new diplomatic initiative on Karabakh

PanARMENIAN.Net - French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that he is going to hold talks with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan this week and come up with a new diplomatic initiative to resolve the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, RIA Novosti reports.

"This week I will talk to Prime Minister [of Armenia Nikol] Pashinyan and [President of Azerbaijan Ilham] Aliyev. We will demand full compliance with [agreements] on the Lachin Humanitarian Corridor, and also come up with a new diplomatic initiative in the international arena to increase pressure ( on Azerbaijan)," the French president said, speaking at the annual conference of France’s ambassadors on Monday.

Since December 12, 2022, the sole road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia - the Lachin Corridor - has been blocked by Azerbaijan. Baku tightened the blockade on June 15, 2023, banning emergency relief supplies that were carried out by Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross through the sole road connecting Karabakh to Armenia and the outside world. The move aggravated the shortages of food, medicine and other essential items experienced by the region’s population. On August 15, Karabakh Human Rights Defender’s office reported the first case of death from starvation.