On December 15, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a briefing for representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited to Azerbaijan with the participation of Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

During the briefing, Minister J. Bayramov drew the attention of the participants to the fact that the situation that caused the protest by the representatives of the Azerbaijani civil society and environmental activists on the Shusha-Lachin road during the last few days has not been addressed yet.

The minister underlined that Azerbaijan does not impose any restrictions on the movement of cars on the Lachin road, and the movement is regulated by the previous rules. It was stated that the Azerbaijani protestors had no intention of impeding the traffic along the road, on the contrary, made appropriate statements on their readiness to facilitate the movement of civilian vehicles, especially ambulances.

Touching upon the allegations that the current situation could lead to a humanitarian crisis, the minister pointed out that this is exaggeration of the situation and Azerbaijani side stands always ready to meet the humanitarian needs of the Armenian residents living in our territories.

Minister J. Bayramov noted that Azerbaijani side has taken a number of steps to promote dialogue with local Armenian residents. In this regard, he particularly noted the contacts with local Armenian residents and joint steps undertaken in the construction of the Lachin road and the use of the Sarsang water reservoir.

At the meeting, it was reported that since December 3 of the current year, a team consisting of experts from the relevant state institutions have been negotiating with the leadership of the peacekeeping contingent regarding the illegal exploitation of mineral deposits in the territories of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily deployed, as well as related environmental and other consequences. Nevertheless despite the agreement reached, on December 10, the visit of Azerbaijani representatives to the mentioned areas was prevented. 

It was noted that the ongoing protest action is the result of the legitimate dissatisfaction of the Azerbaijani public against illegal activities, and that Azerbaijan is actually trying to resolve its concerns through dialogue.

During the speech, the Minister, commenting on the spread of misinformation about the alleged impediments imposed by Azerbaijan on the supply of natural gas in the areas where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, brought to the attention of the participants of the briefing that the gas supply in the mentioned areas is carried out by Armenia and that those areas are not integrated into the gas supply system of our country. In addition, he pointed out that the Azerbaijani side is ready, as before, for dialogue in the direction of eliminating the problem, even in case of any technical failure.

Minister J. Bayramov mentioned that our country consistently draws the attention of the international community to the implementation of the Trilateral Statement, including the gross and open violation of the use of the Lachin road by Armenia. He spoke about the abuse of the Lachin road by Armenia for illegal military activities, the transfer of landmines and illegal visits of foreign citizens, in gross violation of the Trilateral Statement, as well as the severe consequences of the existing landmine threat. He emphasized that since the end of the Patriotic War of 2020, 276 of our citizens have been victims of mine explosions, and 35 out of 46 killed were civilians.

Emphasizing that the reactions given by the foreign ministries of some countries were biased, despite the provision of detailed information on the issue by Azerbaijan, the minister brought to attention that such steps are not aimed at solving the existing problems, but rather encourage those who want to continue the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan.

The minister called for the support of steps promoted by Azerbaijan for the reintegration of local Armenian residents in the territory of Azerbaijan.