BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 18. Russian military is studying information of Azerbaijan about possible use of Lachin-Khankendi road by Armenia to transport mines, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a briefing, Trend reports.
As he noted, the Lachin-Khankendi road, by agreement of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia, should be open for the passage of goods, citizens and transport.
"But there should be no military cargo there. Azerbaijan has provided data, that is being studied by Russian peacekeepers, that the Armenian side has been delivering and placing landmines near the positions military of Azerbaijan," he added.
Meanwhile, satellite images of three Armenian military facilities built in Karabakh in 2022 using materials that were illegally delivered along the Lachin-Khankendi road have spread in social networks.
This is another proof that the Armenians were using the Lachin-Khankendi road for military purposes, contrary to the tripartite statement of 10 November 2020, which provides for the use of the road exclusively for humanitarian purposes.
At the same time, the peaceful protest of Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the Lachin-Khankendi road against the illicit exploitation of Azerbaijan's mineral resources in the area of Russian peacekeepers' temporary deployment has been going on for over a month.
Previously, following the talks with the Russian peacekeepers' command on December 3 and 7, 2022, a group of experts from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Property Service under the Ministry of Economy, and AzerGold CJSC were going to begin preliminary monitoring of the illicit mineral resource exploitation, as well as emerging environmental implications on Azerbaijani lands, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, on December 10, 2022.
The expert team was expected to inspect the environmental condition at the 'Gizilbulagh' gold deposit and the 'Damirli' copper-molybdenum deposit, monitor various areas, organize cadastral property records, assess potential risks and threats to the environment, as well as to underground and surface water sources.
However, when arriving in the monitoring area, the expert group, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, faced provocations. The planned initial inspection and monitoring did not take place due to the fact that the Russian peacekeepers not only did not create necessary conditions but also prevented for the entire process to carry on.