Rally on Azerbaijan's Lachin road continues for the 4th week

Rally on Azerbaijan's Lachin-Khankandi road close to the post of Russian peacekeepers temporarily stationed there near Shusha continues for the forth week..

The peaceful protesters have recently raised posters and chanted slogans against the illegal exploitation of mineral deposits in the territory of Azerbaijan.

During the rally, safety rules are strictly observed, and no incidents were observed either at night or in the morning.

The representatives of Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations have been peacefully protesting for the twenty-second day against the inadmissibility of Azerbaijani specialists to the territory, to monitor the illegal exploitation of deposits in the area of stationing the peacekeepers.

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.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said last week the Lachin corridor should be used only for the purposes set in the statement of the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders.

"We express concern over the lack of progress in restoring the full-functioning of the Lachin corridor for the movement of people, transport vehicles and cargo in both directions in accordance with the statement of the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders of November 9, 2020. The Russian side, in particular, the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, continues to take steps to settle this situation," she stressed.

She noted that the Russian peacekeepers are making a key contribution to maintaining security in their zone of responsibility, which was noted by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia at their summit in Sochi on October 31. "We consider any public attacks on or provocations against our peacekeepers as unacceptable and deliberate actions doing visible harm to the process of Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization," she said.

"We call on Baku and Yerevan to strictly observe all the provisions of the statement of the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders of November 9, 2020," Zakharova said. "We stress that the Lachin corridor should be used only for the purposes set forth in this document. We hope that the sides will reach an agreement on the development of ore deposits in the region."

According to Zakharova, Russia calls for "all-round implementation of the entire package of top-level trilateral agreements geared toward unblocking transport and economic ties in the region, delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, drafting a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan, and establishing lines of communication between the public figures, experts and lawmakers of the two countries.".