© Photo: Maria Novoselova / Vestnik Kavkaza
Armenia obstructs the work of the Lachin BCP, leaves Azerbaijan's proposal on the Aghdam-Khankendi road unanswered, uses the Armenian population of Karabakh in provocations, the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan informs the UN Secretary General. At the same time, there is success in the negotiation process. For the first time in 30 years, Azerbaijan and Armenia can normalize relations.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov addressed a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres, in which he informed about the situation in the region.
The Armenian side continues to leave unanswered Baku's calls for cooperation and stabilization of the situation, the minister noted first of all.
“Despite Azerbaijan's consistent calls for negotiations to be held through the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, Armenia continues to refuse to provide guarantees not to repeat the incidents and thus prevents the full resumption of the work of the BCP. Azerbaijan's consistent calls to Armenia for cooperation through border and customs authorities to ensure the smooth functioning of the cross-border movement of people, goods and services have also gone unanswered,”
– Jeyhun Bayramov said.
He brought to the attention of the UN Secretary General that the Armenian residents of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan are forced to obtain permission from the Armenian separatists in order to use the Lachin BCP.
"Pending Armenia's lifting of restrictions on the free movement of civilians and goods through the Lachin BCP and based on the need to minimize the impact of the situation on the local civilian population, Azerbaijan is facilitating the passage of local Armenian residents through the Lachin BCP for emergency medical care as an exception. In an average, 25-30 people pass through the BCP daily for medical purposes,”
– Bayramov added.
The head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry noted that the BCP continues to operate, the population and goods are passing through it, although there were attempts to smuggle goods through the checkpoint on ICRC vehicles.
The minister stated that the Armenian side continues to prevent the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Armenian residents of Karabakh along the Aghdam-Khankendi route. Residents of the region are used to participate in the so-called public protests against the use of alternative routes for the delivery of goods. Armenia undermines the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality in the provision of international humanitarian assistance, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister stressed.
“This is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, the most striking evidence of the politicization and abuse of the activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) by Armenia that proves that the allegations of the so-called “blockade” are false and groundless. The foregoing is sufficient to dispel doubts that by capitalizing on an “illegal blockade” and a “humanitarian crisis”, Armenia is, in fact, engaged in reckless activities of misleading and manipulating the international community, including the Security Council, in an attempt to blackmail Azerbaijan and impose on the international community its program of torpedoing post-conflict normalization efforts,”
– Bayramov underlined.
There is no substantiation for the assertions of the Armenian leadership “about the deliberate violation by Azerbaijan of the supply of electricity and gas to the Karabakh region.” The minister recalled that in February this year, the International Court of Justice actually rejected Armenia's request for an interim measure against Azerbaijan based on these allegations.
Today, there is a historic opportunity for the final normalization of relations between the two countries after a 30-year bloody conflict, Bayramov noted, but the Armenian side does not stop acting against peace. The Minister shared with the UN Secretary General the successes of the negotiation process to normalize the situation between Baku and Yerevan.
“In recent months, with the active participation of international partners, the normalization process has significantly intensified. The talks allowed the parties to narrow the circle of differences and achieve progress on a number of articles of the future bilateral agreement on the establishment of peace and interstate relations,”
- Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan wrote.
