A Nagorno-Karabakh official on Thursday pressed Russia to allow traffic on the only road linking this breakaway region of Azerbaijan — whose population is mostly Armenian — with Armenia.

“I call on the Russian Federation to guarantee the free movement of people and goods in this corridor,” Minister Gurgen Nershisyan said in a message on social media, saying the situation is “horrendous and will have irreversible consequences within days.”

Azerbaijan announced on Tuesday that it had suspended traffic on the Lachin Corridor, saying drivers working for the Armenian Red Cross were allegedly smuggling goods along the route, which the International Committee of the Red Cross denies.

Earlier on Thursday, the Armenian prime minister had denounced a “blockade” of Nagorno-Karabakh following the closure of that road and announced that he would join EU-sponsored negotiations with Azerbaijan on Saturday.