In view of the ongoing conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan says it has set up a checkpoint on the only connecting road to Armenia.
The border post in the Lachin corridor was set up today on “the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan”, the country’s border guard announced. It is a reaction to a similar measure taken by the Armenian government the day before.
It is also about preventing “the illegal transport of workers, weapons and mines from Armenian territory” that were intended for “illegal associations of Armenian bandits on Azerbaijani territory,” it said.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said the checkpoint was for “transparency” and “the rule of law as well as ensuring security.”
Again and again deadly skirmishes
Baku also said surveillance cameras from the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry captured how two “containers for military purposes and a convoy of Armenian military vehicles” drove into Azerbaijani territory in violation of the ceasefire agreement and international law. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry also accused the neighboring country of “threats and provocations”.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been at odds over the Nagorno-Karabakh border region since the collapse of the Soviet Union. After fighting that left more than 6,500 dead in 2020, Russia brokered a ceasefire agreement that forced Armenia to give up large areas.
Since then there have been deadly skirmishes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. For several months, Armenia has also been accusing the neighboring country of causing a “humanitarian crisis” in Nagorno-Karabakh by blocking the Lachin corridor.
