(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Sabina Mammadli read more For 44 days back-to-back, the Azerbaijani eco-activists and
representatives of NGOs have been picketing the Lachin-Khankandi
road against the illicit exploitation of Azerbaijan's natural
resources despite the cold weather, Azernews reports.
In sharp contrast to the remarks by Karabakh separatists about
the“humanitarian crisis” or the road“blockade, vehicles
constantly pass through the road without any problems. This way, a
convoy of 6 vehicles of the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC), as well as a few vehicles and passenger cars of the
Russian peacekeeping contingent drove along the Lachin-Khankandi
road unhindered today.
In an article published by Financial Times, Azerbaijani
Ambassador to the UK Elin Suleymanov noted that hundreds of
vehicles passing through the road indicate that there is no
'blockade' by Azerbaijan.
In response to the article of Anastasia Stognei and Max Seddon
on FT, the ambassador underlined that the authors 'are correct to
highlight the negative impact of the Russian-Armenian oligarch
Ruben Vardanyan on the situation in the territories of Azerbaijan
under temporary deployment of Russian peacekeepers, and on the
process of Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization'.
Despite that, he added that the article is too quick to dismiss
the valid concerns of the Azerbaijani society regarding the very
real destruction of the environment and smuggling of landmines and
weapons through the Lachin road from Armenia, in violation of
commitments officially undertaken by the Armenian government in
Yerevan.
He also stressed that the question that should be posed to the
separatists in Khankandi is why they are preventing local Armenians
from traveling to Armenia.
'The FT article confirms that the Karabakh region is an
internationally-recognized part of Azerbaijan. Even Armenia implied
this was so, most recently in stating its recognition of
Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty based on
international documents. What would serve the best interests of the
Armenian and Azerbaijani people alike is to move forward with a
comprehensive agreement to ensure lasting peace in the Caucasus,'
the ambassador concluded.
Following discussions with the command of the Russian
peacekeeping contingent on December 3 and 7, 2022, Azerbaijani
specialists from the Ministries of Economy, Ecology, and Natural
Resources, the State Service for Property Issues under the Ministry
of Economy, and AzerGold Company were to conduct primary monitoring
on illegal exploitation of mineral deposits on Azerbaijani
territory. However, the monitoring failed due to the provocation of
ethnic Armenians.
After the Russian peacekeepers' failure to provide the necessary
conditions for the Azerbaijani agency representatives to carry out
their duties in the area, a group of eco-activists, NGOs, and
public representatives have taken to the street in protest at the
peacekeepers' repugnance to live up to their obligations in line
with the November 10, 2020, peace deal to maintain peace and order
in the region, and oust the Armenian troops from the region and
prevent illegalities. However, time proved that the Russian
peacekeepers are driven by the interests of Russia rather than the
idea coming from the essence of the notion of peacekeeping as
universally understood.