No:432/23, Answer of the MFA Spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada to the question of local media regarding the article published by the "Kommersant" newspaper

Question: On August 11, claims were made about the initial agreements on the facilitation by Azerbaijan of the passage through the Lachin border checkpoint in return for the usage of the "Aghdam - Khankendi" route by the ICRC in the article named "Artsakh against Karabakh" published in the "Kommersant" newspaper. What is the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding these claims?

Answer: An agreement was reached in recent days as a result of the efforts of the international partners on the transportation of goods by the ICRC via the "Aghdam - Khankendi" route and, after 24 hours, the intensification of the passage through the Lachin road via the ICRC.

Furthermore, based on Azerbaijan's proposal, a Yevlakh meeting between the representatives of Azerbaijan and the representatives of the Armenian residents of Karabakh was agreed upon with logistical issues being finalized. 

The aforementioned agreements notwithstanding, the representatives of the Armenian residents of Karabakh withdrew their confirmation at the last moment.

The disrupting actions of the representatives of the Armenian residents of Karabakh, as well as Armenia, which has turned this issue into a tool of political manipulation, definitively demonstrate their lack of interest in peace and stability, as well as the dialogue in this area.

Moreover, these steps prove the unfounded nature of allegations on humanitarian grounds and serve to aggravate the situation in the region.