Azerbaijan’s Controversial Blockade of Karabakh: A Deep Dive

Azerbaijan, which won the 2020 Karabakh War with the help of Turkish and Israeli military equipment, promised a peaceful integration of the 120,000 Armenians in the region. Baku’s seemingly ‘goodwill gestures’ have recently come under international scrutiny over their blockade of the Karabakh region.

For the past seven months, Azerbaijan has repeatedly rejected calls from human rights groups, various nations, and international governing bodies to lift their blockade on Karabakh, as the de facto siege has quietly starved the Armenians of the region.

Azerbaijan’s Blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh

Baku implemented the blockade on the breakaway unrecognized state of Artsakh on December 12th, 2022. The longtime autocrat of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, enacted the closure of the Lachin Corridor to force even more concessions against Armenia and cruelly make it aware the Armenians of Karabakh would never have autonomy.

Initially, under the guise of civilians acting as “eco-activists,” the Azerbaijani military has taken over the blockade, forbidding vital goods such as food, medicine, and gas to 120,000 Armenians in the region. Russian peacekeepers have done little to mitigate the situation as the continuous ceasefire violations continue.

The Deteriorating Humanitarian Situation

The ongoing blockade has continued to deteriorate to where international aid organizations have attempted to intervene. Armenia has warned of a new war as fears of famine reach the enclave. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been unsuccessful in bringing in necessities, including a recent massive convoy blockaded by the Azerbaijani military.

Amnesty International and Crisis Group have both released statements calling for lifting the blockade and the cooperation of the Azerbaijani government to ensure the safety and human rights guarantees of the Armenians of Karabakh.

Reports of malnutrition, miscarriages, and minimal medical equipment have been documented in the region. Armenians of Karabakh now have to travel to Armenia for medical and food aid as Azerbaijan has done little to help them. Nevertheless, the Karabakh Armenians remain under siege while Azerbaijan’s diplomats continue to mock their situation and use ‘caviar diplomacy’ to bribe international correspondents and politicians towards their side.

Calls from the EU and US to Lift the Blockade

Azerbaijan’s blockade has drawn the ire of the European Parliament and European Union, especially as both organizations have placated the autocratic Aliyev family for several years. The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, recently expressed concern over the blockade.

American diplomats have also expressed their displeasure with Azerbaijan over the blockade and have pivoted against Azerbaijan’s aggression since the unprovoked 2022 invasion of Armenia Proper. Nevertheless, the State Department has continued to placate funding and military equipment to Baku, even when they violate humanitarian law.

The Russian Federation has done little to coerce or convince Azerbaijan to open up the Lachin Corridor from the Trilateral Agreement that the Kremlin wrote. Moscow has held prior grudges against Yerevan for the Velvet Revolution and has used Azerbaijan‘s rich natural gas to bypass sanctions in their ongoing war in Ukraine.

Even if Russia were on good terms with Armenia, their geopolitical situation would not favor their response. Already stuck in a quagmire in Ukraine, Moscow also has a rogue paramilitary organization in Wagner embroiled in massacres and war crimes across Africa. Putin currently has an international arrest warrant for forcibly kidnapping Ukrainian children. Russia’s military capabilities are thoroughly crippled to where Moscow couldn’t military respond to Azerbaijan, even if they wanted to.

Azerbaijan Shows the World Tyrants with Oil Cannot be Trusted

Despite Armenia’s current Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, recognizing Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory, Ilham Aliyev remains dishonest and ruthless. The EU’s position and ties to Azerbaijan have now been self-reflecting.

Initially starting, the bloc wanted to stray away from Russian gas, and it is covered in the blood of untold victims in Ukraine. The European Union had no problem trading Putin’s blood money with Aliyev’s. Last year, the European Commission signed a deal to double Azerbaijani gas to Europe, and the bloc’s president hailed the country as a trusted energy partner.

Akin to Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other oil despot nations, Azerbaijan will use its natural resources to excuse inhumane activities as long as governments and international organizations continue to rely on said countries.

The counterproductive actions of Baku continue to inflame ethnic tensions in Karabakh after a brutal war. Still, it also shows the international community that Azerbaijan cannot be trusted to rule over the Armenians of the region. The international community must now call bluff towards Baku’s inhumane blockade or watch the continued destruction of another ancestral Armenian community.