Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, in a recent interview with the Italian La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, said a resolution of the Karabakh conflict must be perceived as a separate issue, divorced from ongoing talks to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan is one thing; the question of Artsakh is quite another. We have wanted independence from Azerbaijan since the time we were all in the USSR, since 1988. The potential peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan does not change our situation,” Vardanyan told the Italian news site.

Vardanyan said Baku must negotiate directly with Artsakh authorities to resolve the Karabakh issue.

He said Russian peacekeepers have failed to reopen the Lachin Corridor because they can’t use weapons and want to avoid inciting fighting.

Vardanyan said the Azerbaijani “eco-activists” blocking the roadway are part of the Azerbaijani government’s policy to force Armenians to leave the region.

He said that while the European Parliament has condemned the blockade, it failed to follow-up with deeds.

“Probably because Azerbaijan supplies it with oil and gas, with very advantageous contracts. Launching beautiful proclamations is always a good thing, but not enough,” Vardanyan said.

Arguing for greater European assistance, Vardanyan described Artsakh as a democracy, in contrast to Azerbaijan, and that Europe “has always had a great respect for democracy”.

Vardanyan also gave an interview to the Spanish periodical El País and called on Europe to issue sanctions against Azerbaijan.

"We do not want to be subject to ethnic cleansing, the victims of which were the residents of the Armenian communities living in Azerbaijan during the Soviet period. We are a democratic republic, and we cannot be part of a dictatorship that does not even respect its own people,” Vardanyan said.

Vardanyan likened the Artsakh blockade to that of Berlin following WWII and called for a similar humanitarian airlift to prevent the loss of life due to fod and energy shortages.