Azerbaijan argued on Wednesday that Armenia is not interested in ensuring transparency on the Lachin-Khankendi road, strongly condemning the statements made earlier in the day by Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Luxembourg his counterpart Jan Asselborn.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry accused Yerevan of distorting discussions and negotiations on the peace process and engaging in manipulation, showing once again that it is not interested in ensuring transparency on the Lachin road nor in peace in the region.
Armenia previously rejected Baku’s proposal to establish a border checkpoint to prevent the abuse and illegal use of the Lachin road whose blockade by Azerbaijani eco-activists, as Yerevan claims, created a humanitarian situation.
While Azeri activists accuse Yerevan of illegal exploitation of Azerbaijan’s natural resources, Baku points out that Yerevan misuses the road for the illegal rotation of the Armenian armed forces, the import of mines and ammunition, and illegal entry of foreign citizens to Azerbaijan which, according to Azeri MFA, is contrary to the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020.
Baku also argues that Armenia uses claims that protests of Azeri activists – which are now in the 73 day – led to a ‘blockade’ and a ‘tense humanitarian situation’ only for its political purposes.
Azernews reports that Azerbaijani eco-activists and NGO representatives are now been picketing the Khankandi-Lachin road near Shusha, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent has been temporarily deployed.
They now also accuse Russian peacekeepers of failing to provide them unimpeded access to Azerbaijani experts to monitor the illicit exploitation of the country’s mineral resources by Armenia.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in favor of Yerevan’s appeal filed last month to unblock Lachin Corridor, Armenians’ only land route to Nagorno-Karabakh, and ordered Baku to allow free passage through the corridor that has been blocked since mid-December.
Stressing that the blockade effectively deprived ethnic Armenians in the area of crucial care as a result of the shortages of food, medicines, and other life-saving medical supplies, ICJ underscored that Azerbaijan must take all measures at its disposal to ensure the unimpeded movement along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.
Baku repeatedly denied that is behind the blockade which Yerevan has described as an effort at ethnic cleansing.
