BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 12. A truck with food supplies sent by the Russian International Red Cross Society (ICRC) for people of Armenian origin living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan has passed to Khankendi after a two-day pause, Trend reports.
Thus, two days ago, a truck was waiting near the Barda Hotel, although the passage to Askeran was to be provided from the other side.
The separatists in Karabakh and the Armenian authorities once again demonstrated an unconstructive position, preventing the entry of a vehicle with a food supply for Armenians in Karabakh.
It should be noted with regret that there was virtually no pressure from the International Committee of the Red Cross or the West on Armenia and the separatist regime.
Despite the fact that the ICRC at first glance supported the issue, behind the scenes, the process was artificially blocked by it. This is confirmed by the pressure exerted by the West and the ICRC on the Russian Red Cross Society.
However, this duplicity of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has repeatedly violated the law in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region and is confirmed by facts, still did not work to the advantage of Armenians and the separatist junta regime.
Exceeding its authority, the ICRC has repeatedly engaged in smuggling activities at the Lachin border checkpoint established by Azerbaijan to prevent illegal crossings into its territory. Moreover, the ICRC did not even take the initiative to deliver food supplies to ethnic Armenians on the Aghdam-Khankendi road.
Despite this, Azerbaijan once again got its way, and the passage of the Russian truck along the Aghdam-Khankendi road was secured. Although the Armenian separatists tried to buy time by delaying the passage of the cargo with the help of the ICRC and some Western circles, their efforts were again unsuccessful.
The opening of the Aghdam route has already been decided. Thus, this morning, a truck with food and non-food items from the Russian Red Cross Society has already passed through the Aghdam district and is headed to Khankendi.
This is another victory for Baku, as Azerbaijan insisted that the goods pass through its territory rather than Armenia's. Although many states, including Armenia, opposed this, their leaders and international organizations tried to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. All these attempts failed.
The opening of the Aghdam-Khankendi road today will speed up the issue of the reintegration of Karabakh Armenians. Armenian separatists also realize that if the Aghdam-Khankendi road is opened for one truck, they will not be able to prevent others from passing through it. On the other hand, mentioning Russia's name in the "road" initiative seems to sideline France, pro-Armenian circles in the U.S., and the ICRC. It is this point that worries the Armenian authorities and separatists the most. They are very worried that they may lose their support.
Armenia cannot hide the fact that it is interested in ensuring that the peace talks do not take place. Yerevan understands perfectly well that the aggravation of the situation with Baku has a negative impact on the process of signing a possible peace agreement. For this purpose, the Armenian authorities seek to cause armed provocations in the direction of Azerbaijani Army positions on the conditional border and in the zone of temporary control of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, as well as to prevent the opening of communication lines as the main "weapon".
Yerevan believes that these two methods can aggravate the situation with Azerbaijan and thus avoid peace. Today, there are many obstacles to opening communications with Armenia from the outside. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest pressures on Armenia now comes from Tehran, which is against the opening of the Zangezur corridor. The forces that do not want to open the Zangezur corridor are not interested in signing a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Because if the peace agreement is signed, there will be no obstacles to the opening of this corridor.
However, it should not be forgotten that the named and unnamed forces had previously prevented the opening of the Lachin border checkpoint in the same way. At the same time, the pressure they once exerted on Baku by preventing the opening of the Aghdam-Khankendi road no longer exists. After all, Azerbaijan has once again proved that today, as a global power in the region in the post-conflict period, it is a dictating party and is not going to allow any state or international organization to interfere in its internal affairs. It is not excluded that the issue of the Zangezur corridor will also be resolved in the near future within the framework of Azerbaijan's interests and aspirations.