Azerbaijani army closed access to Karabakh for conscripts from Armenia

Baku/09.02.21/Turan: From the beginning of February, Armenia started the winter conscription of citizens into the army. According to the Sputnik Armenia, conscripts from Armenia will serve only in military units deployed within the republic. During the traditional drawing of lots, military units of Karabakh are not listed among the options. For the first time since the beginning of the nineties, conscripts from Armenia have not been sent to Karabakh. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is forced to make this bitter decision for Armenians under the pressure of the protesters' parents of conscripts who demand not to send their sons to the territory of Azerbaijan.

Earlier in the press and social networks, there were messages about the disbandment of the "Defense Army" of Nagorno-Karabakh. Vitaly Balasanyan, the “secretary of the Security Council” of Karabakh, later said that the authorities were busy creating professional military units on a contract basis. However, he did not specify - the citizens of which countries will be recruited into these units. Then the "President of Karabakh" Arayik Harutyunyan made a statement denying rumors about the disbandment of the Defense Army.

Perhaps, citizens of Armenia will again serve as contract soldiers in Karabakh. However, the following information from Armenian sources informs about the difficulties with moving around Karabakh for the citizens of Armenia.

In accordance with the agreements reached by the Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in the region, since late November, Armenian pilgrims, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, have visited the monastery complex, artsakhtert.com writes.

On February 7, at 8 am, a group of pilgrims and Armenian clergy, according to a preliminary agreement, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, departed from Khankendi (Stepanakert) to the Albanian monastery complex Khudaveng (Armenianized Dadivank) in the Kyalbajar region. Because of the victory in the Patriotic War, Azerbaijan liberated this region from the Armenian occupation.

For the first time, the voyage of Armenian citizens around Karabakh failed, as the Azerbaijani soldiers on duty at the gates of the monastery stopped the cars and said that the visit was not coordinated with them, although, according to the Armenian media, Russian peacekeepers had warned the Azerbaijani side in advance.

Representatives of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces made the pilgrims wait in a neighboring village for three hours to clarify the situation, but they did not allow them to go to Khudaweng. Attempts by the peacekeepers and responsible representatives of the group of pilgrims to clarify that everything was agreed did not give any result. A group of pilgrims, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, went to Dadivank for the second time. Here, after a long wait, the Azerbaijanis did not allow pilgrims to enter the territory of the monastery, not only pilgrims, but also the priests who arrived to change shift. The Armenian pilgrims, together with the icons they brought, were forced to return to Khankendi, BlogNews.am reports.

Because of the war, it is possible to get from Armenia to Kelbajar only by the road passing through Khankendi. The direct road to the monastery from Armenia is closed for foreigners; the Azerbaijani army is located on it.

It is characteristic that in two messages the illegal names "NKR" and "republic" were never used in relation to the Azerbaijani territory.

Another significant event took place this week, indicating the gradual curtailment of the attributes of nonexistent statehood in Karabakh. The Armenian media reported on the liquidation of the so-called "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" in Khankendi. On February 8, the non-existent "ministry" made a strange statement, according to which visits of foreigners to Karabakh are possible after a corresponding permission from the Foreign Ministry ... of Armenia, in Yerevan.

In fact, as it turns out, the separatists are concerned that the embarrassment that happened to the guests from France and the Czech Republic, who intended to travel from Yerevan to Khankendi from Yerevan and were brought back by the Russian checkpoint on the Gorus-Khankendi road, would not repeat with other foreigners. The foreigners were told that only citizens of the countries that signed the Peace Declaration of November 9, 2020 could enter Karabakh.

The leadership of the Armenian Church hopes that the ban will be lifted. Director of the press office in the spiritual administration (Echmiadzin) Vahram Melikyan wrote on the social network, "Let's hope that everything will work out and the agreements reached will be respected." The confessors in Karabakh are going to turn to “the appropriate authorities” for help.-0--