BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 25. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan has urged the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to refrain from making claims that could damage the organization's reputation, Trend reports.
The ministry commented on the UN Population Fund's statement regarding the Lachin-Khankendi road.
"The biased UNFPA statement of January 24, 2023 regarding the peaceful protests on the Lachin-Khankendi road is surprising. It's unacceptable for the Fund, which did not react to the plight of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani families displaced from their lands as a result of the 30-year occupation, to make such a statement," the ministry noted.
As the statement goes, peaceful protests in Azerbaijan demanding an end to the illicit exploitation of natural resources by Armenia and the misuse of the Lachin-Khankendi road, which has been intended for the humanitarian aid, are the legitimate right of Azerbaijani people. The illegal activity on the country's lands, where Armenians live compactly, is a threat to the national security, and this must be immediately stopped. Following the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, Azerbaijan guarantees the security of passenger, vehicles, and cargo transport along the mentioned road in both directions. The security guarantee also includes the suppression of abuse.
As noted in the Foreign Ministry's recent statements, the peaceful protesters do not impede the movement of vehicles and passengers on the Lachin-Khankendi road, and claims that the rally allegedly caused a "humanitarian catastrophe" in the region are unfounded. Since the beginning of protests, thousand supply vehicles have passed freely along the aforementioned road.
The Azerbaijani government has also repeatedly expressed its readiness to meet all humanitarian needs that Armenian residents may face. Despite all this, individuals posing as "leaders" of the local Armenian population continue to use it as a shield to continue their illegal activities and hinder freedom of movement.