Armenia will not get involved in negotiations with Azerbaijan on the opening of the Lachin Corridor in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), President of the Armenian National Assembly Alen Simonyan said Thursday, January 12.

“The authorities of Artsakh have the opportunity to directly negotiate with and speak to Azerbaijan, and they themselves deal with the problem, and Armenia will support every decision Artsakh makes,” Simonyan noted.

The authorities of Artsakh, according to the chairman of the parliament, used to be in direct contact with the Azerbaijani side. He said the sides were in touch during the first two weeks of the blockade of Artsakh, but said contacts have stopped at this stage.

“Until recently, I knew who was talking to whom,” Simonyan said, adding that there were “different channels” of communication between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

Since December 12, the sole road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia - the Lachin Corridor - has been blocked by self-described Azerbaijani environmentalists. Karabakh residents have reported food and fuel shortages, while hospital patients don't have access to essential medicines, with only a handful allowed transfer to facilities in Armenia proper.