BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 29. Armenia obstructs full resumption of Lachin checkpoint's work, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov said in the letter addressed to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Trend reports.
Despite the consistent calls of Azerbaijan and series of discussions with the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent [temporarily stationed in Azerbaijan under the trilateral statement signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the 2020 second Karabakh war], Armenia continues to refuse to provide a guarantee not to repeat such incidents and, thus, obstructs the full resumption of the work of the checkpoint, the minister noted.
"Azerbaijan's consistent calls upon Armenia for cooperation through the border and customs institutions to ensure the smooth functioning of the cross-border movement of persons, cargo and services equally have remained unanswered.
On the contrary, Armenia, through its illegal subordinate
regime, has imposed restrictions on the movement of Armenian
residents of the Karabakh region and effectively deprived them of
the opportunity to use the border checkpoint without prior
permission.
Pending Armenia's lifting of its restrictions on the free movement
of civilians and cargo through the Lachin checkpoint, and
proceeding from the need for minimizing the impact of the situation
on the local civilian population, Azerbaijan has since been
facilitating the passage of local Armenian residents through the
checkpoint for urgent medical purposes on an exceptional basis. On
average, 25 to 30 persons have passed the checkpoint on a daily
basis to travel for medical purposes.
This continues notwithstanding attempts at smuggling certain prohibited goods in ICRC-hired vehicles, which was publicly confessed by this organization," reads the letter.
In order to prevent the transportation of manpower, ammunition, mines, as well as other military equipment from Armenia for illegal Armenian armed groups on the territory of Azerbaijan (which weren't withdrawn contrary to the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020), and as an adequate response to the unilateral establishment of a border checkpoint by Armenia on the border with Azerbaijan on April 22 at the entrance to the Lachin-Khankendi road contrary to the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, on April 23 at 12:00 (GMT+4), the units of the State Border Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan set up a border checkpoint in its sovereign territories, on the border with Armenia, at the beginning of the Lachin-Khankendi road.