At the Armenian government's session on December 29, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, "If Russia is unable to ensure stability and security in [separatist] Nagorno-Karabakh for objective or subjective reasons, then it should initiate a discussion in the UN Security Council to grant the Russian military contingent a UN Security Council mandate."

According to Pashinyan, such a question also arose because the closure of the Lachin Corridor is not the first case of an Azerbaijani invasion under the responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping force. "It was preceded by the events of Khtsaberd [Çaylaqqala in Azerbaijani] and Parukh [Farukh in Azerbaijani]," he added.

"I have to say frankly, Armenia is a convinced supporter and supporter of the Russian peacekeeping troops, but the Russian troops' increasingly visible practice of becoming a silent witness to the depopulation of Nagorno-Karabakh is unacceptable for us," Pashinyan added. Touching on the humanitarian issues in Karabakh, he said that the lack of basic necessities is becoming significant, hundreds of families remain divided, shop windows are empty, and food service restrictions have been introduced in public places.

Nikol Pashinyan informed that a working group had been created under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan, which will cooperate with [the separatist] Nagorno-Karabakh partners on humanitarian issues.

Moreover, according to one of the government's decisions, EUR 9.5 million were allocated to [the separatist] Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russian Foreign Ministry: "Criticism of peacekeepers in the context of Lachine Corridor is unacceptable"

During the weekly briefing on December 29, Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, in the context of the situation in the Lachin Corridor, criticism of the Russian peacekeeping troops is unacceptable.

"We have repeatedly said that Russian peacekeepers are doing everything possible to settle the situation. Public accusations do not help the case; there have been worse situations. We are working to improve that situation," Zakharova said.

Commenting on Pashinyan's statement, Zakharova noted. "Without peacekeeping troops, can anyone responsibly say what would be better? I think the answer is obvious. We can talk about the need to increase efficiency and so on. But to say and announce such things is simply the evidence of not understanding the realities on the ground."