BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 7. The transparent and orderly movement of the Armenian residents of Azerbaijan's Karabakh, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Russian peacekeeping contingent [deployed in Karabakh in accordance with a trilateral statement signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the 2020 second Karabakh war] through the checkpoint on the Lachin-Khankendi road in both directions is currently ensured, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov said, Trend reports.
Hasanov made the remark during the reception of a delegation headed by his Hungarian counterpart Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky, who is on an official visit to Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani minister informed Szalay-Bobrovniczky about the provocations committed by the Armenian side on the Azerbaijani-Armenian conditional border and in the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping forces are temporarily stationed.
He also emphasized that Azerbaijan established the checkpoint on the Lachin-Khankendi road in order to suppress the transportation of manpower, ammunition, mines, as well as other military equipment for illegal Armenian formations, foreign citizens’ unlawful visits, intensive looting of Azerbaijani natural resources and other unlawful activities.
Previously, the peaceful protest on the Lachin-Khankendi road against the illegal exploitation of Azerbaijan's mineral resources in the area of Russian peacekeepers' temporary deployment had been going on since December 12, 2022 until the checkpoint's establishment on April 23 this year.
Following its establishment, videos have been regularly posted on social networks showing how Armenians go through passport control conducted by Azerbaijani border guards at the checkpoint.