ArmInfo. In the conditions of the ongoing blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, issues related to ensuring the normal life of the population were discussed at the meeting of the Operational Headquarters chaired by State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh, Chief of the Operational Headquarters Ruben Vardanyan today.
According to the press service of the NKR government, Ruben Vardanyan noted that the road remains closed, and problems have already begun to arise in the economic sector as well. A number of institutions- enterprises are forced to stop their activities, which causes additional tension both financially and socio- economically. The State Minister instructed to analyze the situation and submit proposals for possible mitigation of its consequences.
The situation in the food, medicine, gasoline and diesel markets was reported, problems were presented. Issues related to providing the population with essentials in various scenarios, as well as the possibility of implementing the relevant regulations were discussed. The situation in the fields of energy supply, water supply and infrastructure was also presented. In order to ensure the uninterrupted operation of these systems, it has been emphasized that it is necessary to continue to maintain the economic regime.
On December 12 at 10:30 am, a group of Azerbaijanis in civilian clothes blocked the Stepanakert-Goris highway, again "for environmental reasons." Armenian telegram channels have already identified employees of the special services of Azerbaijan among the so-called ecologists. The Azerbaijanis are behaving loosely, trying to provoke Russian peacekeepers, and have set up a tent on the only road linking Artsakh with Armenia. The road remains closed to this day. The so-called Azerbaijani environmentalists, who were lit up in the photo with a demonstration of the symbol of Turkish "Gray Wolves" ultranationalists, said that they would remain on the road until the head of the peacekeeping contingent, Andrei Volkov, arrived. In addition, from the evening of December 13, Azerbaijan also shut off the valve of the gas pipeline through which gas is supplied to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. The gas supply was restored three days later. It is noteworthy that the Azerbaijanis, who blocked the Stepanakert-Goris highway after environmental requirements, also voiced political ones, namely the control and activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service of Azerbaijan throughout the territory of the Republic of Artsakh.
We add that the first provocations by the so-called environmentalists began on December 3 with the blocking of the Berdzor (Lachin) corridor connecting Artsakh with Armenia. Over the past week, the enemy side periodically undertook various kinds of provocations both against the Russian peacekeepers in the NKR and against the civilian population. And already on December 10, a group of Azerbaijanis tried to get into two mines operating in the NKR, however, the Karabakh people did not allow them to get into the mines.
We emphasize that on December 25 a large rally was held in Stepanakert demanding to unblock the road of life. According to some estimates, up to 70 thousand people attended the rally. In total, about 120 thousand citizens live in the Republic.