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If Azerbaijan unblocks the Lachin corridor, the sole road connecting Artsakh to Armenia, until Monday and the issue is completely solved, the proceedings launched by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will be terminated, international law expert Ara Ghazaryan told Panorama.am on Friday.

The European Court gave Azerbaijan time until 16:00 CET on December 19 to respond to Armenia’s request for interim measures, the Office of Armenia’s Representative on International Legal Issues said on Thursday, adding the court will make a final decision after the response.

Armenia has requested the ECHR to indicate interim measures against Azerbaijan and obligate the country to unblock the Lachin corridor.

The blockade began on Monday morning, when a group of so-called Azerbaijani “eco activists” stopped traffic on the road, citing “illegal” mining activity in the area. Later on Tuesday, Azerbaijan also cut off the gas supply to Artsakh, which was restored on Friday.

Ghazaryan highlights the court proceedings as a deterrent to Azerbaijani provocations in the future.

"I can't say that they play a decisive role, because provocations will be repeated, but they are important," the lawyer stated.

If the Artsakh-Armenia road is not reopened before the deadline set by the ECHR, the European Court will make a decision a few days after the expected response.

"It’s good that the ECHR set a short time limit for Azerbaijan’s response, as there are cases when a longer deadline is set," Ghazaryan explained.

He claims Armenia can lodge more appeals with the European Court over Azerbaijan’s blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and the ensuing humanitarian crisis there in the future as well given the large number of facts.

The lawyer highlighted the statements of a number of European countries in the possible reopening of the corridor and the restoration of the gas supply to Artsakh.

"Although Azerbaijan claims that the individuals gathered there have no ties to the government, everyone understands perfectly well and have also announced that the Azerbaijani authorities are behind those actions. These statements apparently played a key role. We know nothing about the talks between the two countries or possible compromises they reached behind the scenes. We have no complete information, but a certain result is visible," he said.

Earlier on Friday, Artsakh’s State Minister Ruben Vardanyan said Azerbaijan had restored the gas supply to Artsakh “without any compromises or concessions on our part.” Also, he said the Lachin corridor may be unblocked later on Friday.