Azerbaijan demands Karabakh mine access as condition to end protests blocking road

BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan said on Tuesday protests which have blocked the supply route to ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh for more than two weeks would be suspended if monitors were given access to what it calls illegal mining sites in the enclave.

A crowd of Azerbaijanis has been engaged in a standoff with Russian peacekeepers since Dec. 12 along the Lachin corridor, the road that crosses Azerbaijani territory and connects Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh.