Azerbaijan has established the first checkpoint at the entrance to a major axis towards Armenia

Azerbaijan announced on Sunday April 23 that it had established the first checkpoint at the entrance to the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Armenia with the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. “unacceptable” For Yerevan. Azerbaijan’s border guards said in a statement that they had acted “In response” A similar decision was made by their neighbors on Saturday.

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Such a measure has been implemented for the first time since the brief war against Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2020. “To prevent the illegal transportation of manpower, weapons and mines from the territory of Armenia for illegal organizations of Armenian bandits on the territory of Azerbaijan”They said.

“On April 22, the surveillance cameras of the Ministry of Defense recorded the entry of two containers and a convoy of Armenian military vehicles for military purposes into the Azerbaijani territory, contrary to the terms and principles of the Tripartite Declaration and international law.”Azerbaijan backed diplomacy in a statement, condemning it “provocation” From Yerevan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan advocated the establishment of a checkpoint “Used for transparency in operations (…)to the rule of law, and thus, to ensure the safety and security of movements”. According to the Azerbaijani border guards, the Russian peacekeeping force is stationed in the region, and “Russian-Turkish Observatory” would have been “information” Such a decision. In a statement, the Armenian Foreign Ministry issued the condemnation “A New Challenge” with “False and baseless excuses”.

“Humanitarian Crisis”

America says “Azerbaijan is very concerned about establishing a checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor” And invite both parties “Avoid Provocation”, according to a statement from the State Department. France “Sadness” And this installation is it “Violates commitments made in the framework of the ceasefire agreement and prejudices the negotiation process”Its foreign ministry said in a press release.

Paris called Baku “In compliance with its international obligations”Recalling a decision handed down two months ago by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court of the United Nations. “Binding Power” to Azerbaijan. On February 22, the ICJ ordered Baku to ensure freedom of movement in the Lachin Corridor.

For months, Armenia has also been warning of a “Humanitarian Crisis” In Karabakh, the Azerbaijani blockade – denied by Baku – has caused shortages of medicine and food and power cuts in the Lachin Corridor region.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist representatives called on Moscow, the conflict’s mediator. “Initiate discussions immediately” Specifically “Prevent establishment of Azerbaijan checkpoint”.

Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus, clashed in 2020 in a war for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. The conflict resulted in the defeat of the Armenian army and a Russian-backed cease-fire. However, conflicts do break out from time to time.

The first conflict, which claimed 30,000 lives in the early 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ended in an Armenian victory backed by Moscow.