Azerbaijan on Thursday denied that the country halted natural gas supplies to the region in Karabakh under the control of Russian elements.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with representatives of diplomatic missions in Azerbaijan to inform them about recent developments in the Karabakh region where a Russian peacekeeping contingent is stationed, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Natural gas supply to the region in question is provided by Armenia and the natural gas network of that region is not integrated into Azerbaijan's," said Bayramov. "However, in case of any technical failure, Azerbaijan is ready for dialogue to resolve the problem as before."
Meanwhile, Russia expressed concern on Thursday over escalating tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a key road linking Armenia to the Karabakh region remained blocked for the fourth day.
A group of Azerbaijani environmental activists blocked the Lachin corridor, the only land route to Karabakh from Armenia across Azerbaijani territory, at the start of this week.
Reuters video showed a crowd of people, many carrying Azerbaijani flags, blocking the road on Thursday in a peaceful standoff with Russian troops from a 5,000-strong mission deployed to the region after the last round of war in 2020.
Armenia claimed the protesters have been dispatched by the Azerbaijani government in an attempt to block Armenia's access to the region.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said it was the Russian peacekeeping force that closed the route. It said the activists were involved in a genuine protest over illegal Armenian mining in Karabakh.
They were expressing the "rightful dissatisfaction of the Azerbaijani public with the illegal economic activity, looting of natural resources, and damage to the environment," it said.
The statement accused Armenia of numerous breaches of agreements between the two sides, including the placement of land mines, which it said had killed 45 people since 2020.
The standoff is a test of Russia's authority as the main security guarantor in the region at a time when its struggles in the war in Ukraine risk undermining its top-dog status among former Soviet republics in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova expressed Moscow's concern over the situation and said it expected the route to be cleared soon. She said it was "unacceptable and counter-productive" to blame the Russian peacekeepers for the situation.
"Russia's defense ministry and the Russian peacekeeping contingent have been actively working to de-escalate the situation and we expect full transport links to be restored in the very near future," Zakharova told reporters.
Russia is an ally of Armenia through a mutual self-defense pact, but tries to maintain warm relations with Azerbaijan and has rejected calls by Yerevan to provide military support.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
Clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, with the Armenian Army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces, violating several humanitarian cease-fire agreements. During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and around 300 settlements and villages that had been occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.
The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.
However, the cease-fire has been broken several times since then.
