For Stepanakert townspeople, gas problem steps into background in face of war threat

The residents of Stepanakert interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" fear that the gas supply has been resumed temporarily; and the Azerbaijani party will use the gas pipeline passing through its territory from Armenia for its own purposes. They also noted that the main thing for Nagorno-Karabakh people is not the gas supply restart, but the onset of peace.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 28, the gas supply was resumed in Nagorno-Karabakh, and filling stations also began working.

The Stepanakert townspeople, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, said that the recovery of gas supply is good, but at present they are more concerned about the peace problem.

"Young military servicemen have perished – can the gas supply cross out all this? We need no gas, we need peace and no need for people to leave their homes," said Anna Pogosyan.

Nara Saiyan, a mother of many children from the city of Askeran, has noted that "after the first Karabakh war, the humanitarian situation was more catastrophic – we even had no normal water supply and food." "Then, it was much more difficult for our parents than it is now for me with my children. Well, no gas – so what? There's electricity. I want us not to be threatened, our villages not to be seized, so that people are not forced to evacuate. We are here in Stepanakert, at least in our homes, but how can Khramort villagers be happy with gas if they are not at home right now?" the young woman has asked.

"Well, Azerbaijanis opened gas supply today; and tomorrow they'll stop it again. It cannot be allowed to continue. It is necessary to take steps, consider some alternative methods, because such manipulations will be repeated," said Andranik Akopyan from Khnapat village.

"There are rumours that gas was supplied in exchange for the Karaglukh height close to the village of Parukh. Although I don't believe this, but if it is true, then Russian peacemakers should understand that with the loss of this height, not only the peaceful settlements of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), but also all its bases become vulnerable," he has added.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 29, 2022 at 02:24 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.