Ruben Vardanyan: Artsakh under blockade for 168 hours now

Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) continues, leaving people stranded on the road and preventing access to food and medical services for the Artsakh Armenians.

“We have been under blockade for 168 hours now. Life goes on, we keep moving forward and nothing has changed,” Artsakh’s State Minister Ruben Vardanyan said in a live video on Facebook on Monday morning, addressing the Artsakh people.

Vardanyan said that he visited the Martuni and Martakert regions on Sunday. He plans to hold meetings in the Askeran region later on Monday.

The blockade began early on 12 December, when a group of so-called Azerbaijani “eco activists” stopped traffic on the road connecting Artsakh to Armenia, citing “illegal” mining activity in the area. The road, known as the Lachin corridor, is Artsakh’s sole link to the outside world.