A Russian checkpoint in Karabakh’s Lachin corridor. Official photo

Non-Armenian citizens visiting Artsakh will now need to wait up to four days or longer for a visa to be able to enter Artsakh, its foreign ministry said this week. Visa applications would need to be filed with the Artsakh representation in Yerevan.

“Information about the requests [to visit] will also be shared with the Russian peacekeeping forces,” the ministry said, suggesting that final approval on foreigner visits will now rest with the Russian military, which protects the Lachin corridor between Goris and Stepanakert, and the new line of contact around Karabakh.

In the past, foreign citizens – such as those of the United States and the European Union – could enter Artsakh without a visa, and receive it from the foreign ministry in Stepanakert.

Meantime, the Armenian National Security Service (NSS) said in a statement that Armenian media working in border areas, such as the southern province of Syunik, will now need its advance permission before visiting them. That regulation came after media reports of cease-fire violations in the vicinity of Armenian communities that now sit on the new line of contact. The NSS and the defense ministry initially claimed there were no incidents, but then confirmed these reports.