The foreign diplomatic corps has been informed about the latest situation in the region

Baku/08.09.23/Turan: Armenia's goal is to preserve separatism on the territory of Azerbaijan by all possible means. To this end, Armenia is trying to gain time and evades real steps to achieve a peaceful settlement. This was stated at a briefing by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev and representative of the Head of Azerbaijan for Special Assignments Elchin Amirbekov for diplomats accredited in Azerbaijan.

After the establishment of a legitimate border checkpoint in Lachin, Azerbaijan has repeatedly appealed to the Armenian side regarding the establishment of working contacts between relevant state institutions, including customs and border services, to ensure unhindered border crossing. However, the Armenian side did not show reciprocity. Armenia continued to protest against the legitimate right of Azerbaijan and appealed to international structures.

Despite this, the passage across the border for medical evacuation and other urgent purposes continues to this day. Azerbaijan has officially offered to use other routes for the delivery of goods to meet the needs of local residents. This proposal was widely discussed during the meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia on July 15 with the participation of Charles Michel and was reflected in his statement.

On July 25, the issue of simultaneous use of several roads was again discussed at the trilateral meeting of foreign ministers in Moscow. This is the formula proposed by the Russian side. As a result, Azerbaijan gave its consent, but Armenia did not.

In response, Armenia sent a "humanitarian convoy" to the border the next day as part of another pre-planned provocation. It was an open provocation aimed at manipulating international public opinion and laying the foundation for further steps in this direction.

The Russian Federation, the United States and the European Union have carried out the necessary work to organize the simultaneous use of the Aghdam-Khankyandi and Lachin-Khankyandi roads, as well as meetings of the special representative of the central government of Azerbaijan with local residents.

On August 4, an agreement was reached on both issues. At the same time, an agreement was reached on the sequential opening of these roads and the organization of a meeting in Yevlakh. All interested parties, including the ICRC and the peacekeeping contingent, were ready to organize the implementation of the agreements. However, at the last moment, the Armenian side withdrew from both agreements.

During the high-level contacts with the United States, the issue of simultaneous use of the Agdam-Khankendi and Lachin roads was once again discussed in detail. Azerbaijan expressed readiness for their simultaneous opening. The American side took it positively and instructed to convey this message to the Armenian side. However, the implementation of this agreement also did not take place.

The attention of foreign dilomats was also drawn to the fact that the Armenian armed forces, numbering about 10 thousand people, continue to illegally remain in the Karabakh region, dozens of tanks and other armored vehicles, more than 200 units of heavy artillery, including missile systems, are deployed.

In recent days, both along the conditional state border and in the Karabakh region, there has been an intensification of military construction work. "The so-called "elections" of the "president" of this illegal organization planned by the separatists are an extremely provocative step. The provocations committed by Armenia negatively affect the normalization process and negate the efforts of international players in this direction. 

"Azerbaijan's commitment to the peace process is firm, and this position is confirmed by the consistent steps we have taken since November 2020. Our determination to protect our sovereignty and territorial integrity is equally firm and resolute,"  said  the  conclusion. ----06B----