Saturday, October 28, 2023

Azerbaijan Blocks Land Route from Armenia, Tensions Rise

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Azerbaijan has established a checkpoint on the only land route to Nagorno-Karabakh, a contested region that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but has a predominantly ethnic Armenian population. The move was prompted by Azerbaijan’s claim that Armenia was using the road to transport weapons. The establishment of the checkpoint was followed by claims of border shootings by both Azeri and Armenian forces.

On Sunday, Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry announced that it had taken “appropriate measures to establish control at the starting point of the road,” citing the need to provide border security and ensure safe traffic on the road. The move was described as an essential prerequisite for national security, state sovereignty, and the rule of law.

Armenia, however, called the checkpoint a gross violation of the 2020 ceasefire agreement that ended a war between the two countries. Under the agreement, the Lachin Corridor, the only road across Azerbaijan that links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, must be under Russian peacekeepers’ control. Armenia called on Russia to implement the agreement, which was brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The United States government expressed its concern over Azerbaijan’s establishment of the checkpoint, saying it undermines efforts towards peace in the region. The US State Department called for free and open movement of people and commerce on the Lachin Corridor and urged both sides to resume peace talks.

Pictures of the bridge posted on social media by Azeri officials showed one side of it blocked by vehicles and soldiers. Armenia’s defense ministry reported that an Armenian soldier named Artyom Poghosyan was killed when Azeri forces opened fire on an Armenian position in Sotk, an Armenian village east of Lake Sevan. Azerbaijan denied killing the soldier and claimed that Armenian soldiers fired on Azeri units in the Lachin district.

In 2020, Azerbaijan retook territory in and around Nagorno-Karabakh after a second war that ended in a Russian-brokered ceasefire upheld by Russian peacekeepers. Since December 12, Azeri civilians identifying themselves as environmental activists have been facing off with Russian peacekeepers on the Lachin Corridor. Armenia has accused the protesters of being government-backed agitators who are effectively blockading Nagorno-Karabakh, while Azerbaijan denies blockading the road and says that some convoys and aid are allowed through.

In recent months, Armenia has repeatedly called on Moscow to do more to support the peace and ensure unfettered access between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh through the Lachin Corridor. The situation remains tense, with both sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire agreement and engaging in border skirmishes.

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