(MENAFN- AzerNews) By trend
Various processes related to the Lachin corridor,
which provides a direct connection between the Armenian population
residing in Karabakh and Armenia, are not over.
Azerbaijan's official agencies have repeatedly stated
that the Lachin corridor is being used inappropriately. According
to the trilateral statement, signed on November 10, 2020, the
corridor can only be used for humanitarian purposes. This means
that, prior to reintegration, the Armenian population in the
mentioned zone may only use the Lachin corridor to transport food
and other necessities from Armenia.
What happened to the Lachin corridor after signing the
statement?
- Russian peacekeepers created conditions for the
separatists to transport weapons from Armenia. However, the
trilateral statement states that simultaneously with the entry of
peacekeepers into Karabakh, illegal Armenian armed formations have
to leave it. But they are still in Karabakh;
- The peacekeepers pretty much do not control the
entry of foreign citizens into Karabakh. There are facts about the
arrival of foreign journalists, French MPs, as well as the leader
of the French Republican Party, Valérie Pécresse into Khankendi via
the Lachin corridor. Azerbaijan never granted permission for these
visits;
- Several facts concerning illegal transportation
of goods to Khankendi by Iranian vehicles have been revealed
recently;
The Azerbaijani authorities repeatedly stated that it
monitors the activity in the the Lachin corridor, in Khankendi and
the surrounding areas. All three of the above-mentioned facts were
identified as a result of a visual monitoring of the Lachin
corridor by the law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan, and not by
Russian peacekeepers who are responsible for what is happening
within this corridor. As a result of Azerbaijan's principled
position, illegal actions related to Iranian trucks were stopped
once they were revealed.
Nevertheless, the various processes in the Lachin
corridor continue to happen today. The Russian peacekeepers almost
transferred the corridor to the disposition of separatists and
sabotage groups of foreign countries.
What has happened in the Lachin corridor in recent
days?
- A total of 14 Iranian citizens used the road to
enter Karabakh freely. There is information that it was a sabotage
group;
- Also, there is information and images on the
transportation of gold extracted in Karabakh by foreign companies
to Armenia along the Lachin corridor with the support of
peacekeepers.
Curiously, there was no reaction to the mentioned
facts from the peacekeepers in Karabakh or Iran. The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has already addressed a note to the
Embassy of Iran. The Embassy remains silent, although official
documents prove that 12 out of the 14 people who arrived in
Khankendi on November 24 are from Iran's Izeh.
The illegal use of the Lachin corridor, as in the
previous year, was detected not by the peacekeepers, but by the
relevant institutions of Azerbaijan.
Commander of the Russian Peacekeeping Force Andrei
Volkov, in his response to the Azerbaijani reporters, said that
those Iranians were 'construction workers' as well as that 'the
issue is under investigation'.
Russian peacekeepers have dozens of posts from the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border along the Lachin corridor to Khankendi.
It is clear from Volkov's statement that those posts are pointless.
Otherwise, the investigations in relation to Iranians illegally
crossing the border would be held on the spot, not after the issue
was raised by the Azerbaijani reporters. One of the tasks of the
Russian peacekeepers is also to inform Azerbaijan about foreign
citizens entering Karabakh. However, they neither take measures nor
inform Azerbaijan.
All this shows that the Russian peacekeepers either
cannot control the entry and exit from Karabakh or are not
interested to do so. Either way, it is concerning. The absence of
control over entry and exit from Karabakh, and illegal actions
related to the Lachin corridor, violate the sovereignty of
Azerbaijan. Thus, the Azerbaijani army could take action on the
control of Karabakh jointly with the Russian peacekeepers, since it
is obvious that the latter have difficulties with it.
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Tags: lachin corridor russian peacekeepers