BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 16. On December 15, a briefing was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan, with the participation of Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Trend reports citing Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
During the briefing, the minister noted that the situation that led to the protests of representatives of Azerbaijani civil society and environmental activists on the Shusha-Lachin road in recent days has not yet been resolved.
It was brought to the attention that Azerbaijan does not restrict the movement of cars on the Lachin road and that the movement is regulated by the previous rules. It was noted that the protesting Azerbaijanis did not intend to obstruct traffic on the road, but, on the contrary, were ready to facilitate the movement of civilian transport, in particular ambulances.
Noting that the allegations that the current situation could lead to a humanitarian crisis are not true, the minister pointed out that the Azerbaijani side is always ready to meet the humanitarian needs of local Armenian residents. Jeyhun Bayramov also informed about the steps taken by the Azerbaijani side to develop a dialogue with local Armenian residents, in particular during the construction of an alternative road in Lachin and on the use of the Sarsang reservoir.
During the briefing, information was given that since December 3 this year, a group of experts from the relevant state structures has held talks with the command of the peacekeeping contingent regarding the illegal exploitation of mineral deposits in the territories of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily located, and despite the progress made an agreement, on December 10, the visit of Azerbaijani representatives to the indicated areas was prevented. It was pointed out that the ongoing protest is the result of the justified dissatisfaction of the Azerbaijani public with these illegal actions and that Azerbaijan is trying to resolve the issue through dialogue.
During his speech, the minister, commenting on the misinformation about the alleged suspension of gas supplies by the Azerbaijani side to the areas of temporary deployment of Russian peacekeepers, informed that gas is supplied to these areas by Armenia and that these areas are not integrated into the gas supply system of our country. In addition, he indicated that the Azerbaijani side is ready for dialogue in the direction of contributing to the elimination of this problem.
The Foreign Minister said that Azerbaijan consistently draws the attention of the international community to the need to implement the tripartite statement by Armenia, including the flagrant violation by Armenia of the conditions for using the Lachin road. He spoke about the abuse of the Lachin road for illegal military operations, the transfer of mines and illegal visits of foreign citizens, as well as the serious consequences of the existing mine threat, which is also a flagrant violation by Armenia of the tripartite statement. He stressed that since the end of the Patriotic War of 2020, 276 of our citizens have suffered from mine explosions, and 35 of the 46 dead were civilians.
The minister stressed that despite the provision of detailed information by Azerbaijan on these issues, the reaction of the Foreign Ministries of some countries was biased and that this does not contribute to solving existing problems. On the contrary, it was pointed out that it encourages those who want to continue the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan.
The Foreign Minister also called for support for Azerbaijan's steps to reintegrate local Armenian residents.