The blocking of the Lachin corridor must be seen as a pattern; its ultimate goal is the genocide of Armenians in Karabakh, Armen Marsoobian, a philosophy professor at Southern Connecticut State University; first vice president of the International Association of Genocide Researchers, told NEWS.am.

And this, the expert recalled, has been going on since the 2020 war. "We already know that the Armenians were expelled from their lands, which were supposed to be protected under the 2020 cease-fire declaration. So there has been consistent pressure on the Armenians to leave Karabakh, and one way to do that is to make life difficult for them.  And one of the ways to do that is to cut the only connection with the outside world, i.e. the Lachin corridor," stressed Marsoobian.

He recalled that the International Association of Genocide Researchers issued a statement two months ago pointing out the danger of genocide against Armenians in the South Caucasus, not only in Artsakh, but also in other territories.

"So I definitely think it has all the characteristics of an ongoing genocide. And we see it in the rhetoric that President Aliyev uses all the time. I'm not surprised that they shut down the Lachin corridor again. Let's hope that Russian peacekeepers can reopen it in the near future, because this kind of blocking really poses an existential threat to Armenians in Karabakh," the expert added.

Aram Danielyan