Representatives of the Armenian residents of Azerbaijan's Karabakh have violated the agreements in regard with the movement via the Aghdam-Khankendi road at the last moment, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aykhan Hajizada said, AzVision.az reports.

According to Hajizada, the recent efforts of international partners have resulted in achieving agreement to use the Aghdam-Khankendi road for transporting goods with the help of the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC), and just 24 hours later, an agreement to further intensify passage through the Lachin-Khankendi road using the ICRC.

"Additionally, following Azerbaijan's suggestion, an agreement was reached to hold a meeting in Yevlakh between Azerbaijani representatives and Armenian residents from Karabakh. All logistics were sorted out. Despite this, representatives of the Armenian residents violated the agreements at the last moment," he explained.

Disruptive behavior of the representatives and Armenia, which turned this issue into means for political manipulations, has once again exposed Armenia's absent interest in peace, stability, and dialogue in this direction, the official emphasized.

"These steps also reveal the baseless nature of their humanitarian claims, which only escalate tensions in the region," he added.

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other military equipment from Armenia for illegal Armenian armed groups on the territory of Azerbaijan (which weren't withdrawn contrary to the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020 signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the second Karabakh war), and as an adequate response to the unilateral establishment of a border checkpoint by Armenia on the border with Azerbaijan on April 22, 2023, at the entrance to the Lachin-Khankendi road contrary to the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, on April 23 this year, 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.

Despite the fact that Azerbaijan ensured the passage of Armenian residents, representatives of ICRC and the Russian peacekeeping contingent through the border crossing, the Armenian side spread false allegations about the alleged "tense humanitarian situation" in the region in order to continue its illegal activities in Azerbaijani territories.

At the same time, the Armenian side committed provocations, such as shelling Azerbaijani border guards on June 15, an attempt at smuggling, sending trucks to the territory of Azerbaijan on July 26 without permission.

Moreover, despite the fact that Azerbaijan put forward a number of proposals for meeting the needs of Armenian residents of Karabakh, including the use of the Aghdam-Khankendi road and other alternative roads, and they were supported by the European Union and the ICRC, the Armenian side opposes these proposals and blocked the entrance to the territory by erecting concrete barriers on alternative roads. All this once again showed that its statements about the "humanitarian situation" are political blackmail.

More about: