Armenian party threatens to blockade Russian military base in Gyumri

YEREVAN, December 28. /ARKA/. If the Berdzor (Lachin) corridor is not opened in the coming days, we will ask our people to block the Russian military base in Gyumri, Vahe Gasparyan from the National Democratic Axis (Bever) party said today.

"To this end, Bever will hold discussions with those political circles in Armenia whose assessments of the Russian blockade of Artsakh coincide with ours. The Russian military base will be encircled just as the Armenian Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) is encircled (by Russians)," Gasparyan said at a press conference.

When asked which political forces are being negotiated with, a senior member of the party Garegin Chugaszyan said the assessment (of the Nagorno-Karabakh blockade) made by various forces, including representatives of the authorities, are similar to their own assessments.

The National Democratic Axis (Bever) is a political party founded on the basis of the radical Sasna Tsrer movement. Its members seized an Armenian police base in 2016 to demand that then President Serzh Sargsyan free Zhirayr Sefilian, the arrested leader of their wider opposition movement, and step down. They laid down their weapons after a two-week standoff with Armenian security forces which left three police officers dead.

Since December 12, the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, has been blocked by groups of Azerbaijanis, described by Azerbaijani state media as environmental activists protesting against illegal mining in the area.

Armenia accused Azerbaijan of seeking to cause a humanitarian collapse in Nagorno-Karabakh and force its residents to leave their homes. On December 13-16 Azerbaijan also cut off gas supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh, pumped from Armenia.

Due to the blockade there is a shortage of medications, fuel as well as food and other essentials,” -0-