CHECKPOINT

In recent days, the abbreviation of the CHECKPOINT has become the most mentioned in the international lexicon of the powers - member states of the frozen OSCE Minsk Group after Azerbaijan established a checkpoint on the Lachin road near the border bridge over the river Hakyari on April 23.

This measure was justified as a response to Yerevan's unilateral steps to install a checkpoint on the side of the bridge on the territory of Armenia a day earlier. Of course, this was a formal reason for retaliatory actions, for which Baku had been preparing for a long time, repeatedly mentioning the problem of moving weapons and military personnel from Armenia to Karabakh. This message reinforced the  detonation of an Azerbaijani military truck on an Armenian mine in Karabakh on the eve of the construction of a checkpoint.

The topic of the checkpoint has been updated since the beginning of the year, when the Armenian newspaper "Hraparak" reported on a closed meeting on January 17 between the leader of the Karabakh separatists Araik Harutyunyan and "deputies of the parliament" of the Armenian-populated territory of Karabakh. Harutyunyan said Baku has put forward demands to open the Lachin corridor. These requirements look like this: the dismissal of Ruben Vardanyan, the suspension of the Kashen mine (Gyzylbulag), the installation of X-ray scanners at the Russian checkpoint in Lachin and the presence of an Azerbaijani representative there, who should control cargo transportation from Armenia to Karabakh and back.

In addition, heavy military equipment, the supplies of which were carried out after the end of the 44-day war, should be withdrawn from Karabakh.

Then the Armenian side rejected the demands.

However, despite this, even before the construction of the checkpoint, Baku achieved the removal of Vardanyan and the suspension of work at the mine. The issue of the checkpoint has also transformed from the limited presence of the representative of Azerbaijan at the Russian checkpoint into a completely independent checkpoint of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The reaction of the participating countries of the frozen Minsk Group was distinguished by political accents - from France's sharp condemnation of the establishment of the checkpoint to the expression of concern by the United States. As always, Russia has prioritized the implementation of the trilateral Declaration of November 10, 2020, on the cessation of the 44-day war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. However, in general, everything came down to ensuring the free movement of goods and people along the Lachin corridor in both directions.

Today, due to the fact that Armenia and Azerbaijan, after more than two years of the end of the war, have not signed a peace agreement on mutual recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity, the trilateral declaration is the only regulating document of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the post-war period.

From the point of view of the logic of this document, Azerbaijan has not violated its obligations and has so far ensured the movement of peaceful goods and people in both directions on the Lachin road. According to the trilateral Statement, "The Republic of Azerbaijan guarantees the safety of movement of citizens, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both directions."

Post-war history confirms that such security was provided and there were no cases of destruction of vehicles and people on this section of the road or damage to them. While after the end of the war in 2020, 292 Azerbaijanis were blown up by mines in the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from occupation, 51 of them died. It is clear from the text of the statement that it is Azerbaijan that has been delegated the issue of road safety. According to the Statement, Russian troops are deployed along the corridor, which means recognition of Azerbaijan's direct control over the road.

However, one essential provision of the Statement concerning the unblocking of Nakhchivan's transport links with the rest of Azerbaijan remains unfulfilled. Paragraph 9 states that "The Republic of Armenia guarantees the safety of transport communication between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic in order to organize the unhindered movement of citizens, vehicles and cargo in both directions. The control over transport communications is carried out by the Border Service bodies of the FSB of Russia."

Yerevan openly sabotages this commitment under various pretexts, which is not the subject of censure and concern of the MG Co-Chair countries.

In the near future we will see the consequences of establishing a checkpoint in Lachin. It should be expected that in this new situation, Azerbaijani eco-activists will curtail their action on the road, where they have been acting as a public checkpoint for four months. It should also be expected that the CHECKPOINT factor will increase the degree of constructivism of the Armenian side in contacts with Baku.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is more and more confidently admonishing the Armenian society, in particular in Karabakh, about the need to recognize the realities according to which the international community recognizes the Armenian-populated territory of Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan. Speaking in the Armenian parliament on April 18, Pashinyan noted that he sincerely seeks to conclude a peace treaty with Azerbaijan as soon as possible. "I want to confirm that Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and we expect Azerbaijan to do the same by recognizing the entire territory of the Armenian SSR as the Republic of Armenia."