Moscow:
Azerbaijan mentioned on Sunday it had established a checkpoint on the one land path to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh area, after claims of cross-border hearth by each Azeri and Armenian forces.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally acknowledged as a part of Azerbaijan, however its 120,000 inhabitants are primarily ethnic Armenians and it broke away from Baku in a struggle within the early 1990s.
Azerbaijan mentioned it had arrange a checkpoint on the highway resulting in Karabakh, a transfer it mentioned was needed to permit Armenia to make use of the highway to move weapons.
Azerbaijan “took acceptable measures to determine management on the preliminary level of the highway,” the overseas ministry mentioned.
“Offering border safety, in addition to guaranteeing secure highway site visitors, is the prerogative of the Authorities of Azerbaijan, and a prerequisite for nationwide safety, state sovereignty and the rule of regulation.”
Armenia mentioned the checkpoint on the Hakkari Bridge within the Lachen Hall was a gross violation of the 2020 ceasefire settlement that ended the 2020 struggle. He referred to as on Russia to implement the settlement, which states that the Lachen Hall, Azerbaijan’s solely highway linking Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh, ought to be beneath the management of Russian peacekeepers.
“We name on the Russian Federation to implement the tripartite assertion,” Armenia’s International Ministry mentioned of the settlement.
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Images of the bridge posted on social media by Azeri officers confirmed one facet of the bridge blocked by automobiles and troopers.
Armenia’s Protection Ministry mentioned one soldier, Artyom Poghosyan, was killed at round 0750 GMT when Azeri forces opened hearth on an Armenian place in Sotak, an Armenian village east of Lake Sion. Azerbaijan has denied the killing of this soldier.
Azerbaijan then claimed that Armenian troops opened hearth on Azeri models within the Lachin district at round 1110 GMT, a declare Armenia denied.
In 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured territory in and across the enclave following a second struggle that resulted in a ceasefire brokered by Russian peacekeepers.
Azeri residents who establish themselves as environmental activists have been clashing with Russian peacekeepers alongside the Lachin Hall since December 12.
Armenia says the protesters are government-backed insurgents who’re imposing an efficient blockade on Karabakh. Azerbaijan has denied blocking the highway, saying some convoys and help are allowed via.
In latest months, Armenia has repeatedly urged Moscow to do extra to assist peace and guarantee unimpeded entry between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh via the Lachen Hall.