No:423/23, Press release on the circulation of the letter addressed by Minister Jeyhun Bayramov to the UN Secretary-General regarding the decision of the International Court of Justice unanimously rejecting Armenia’s request as documents of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly
03 August 2023 14:30
The letter addressed by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov to the UN Secretary-General on 21 July 2023 in connection with the decision of the International Court of Justice dated 6 July regarding the rejection of the request put forward by Armenia in the court case Armenia against Azerbaijan was circulated as documents of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly.
In the letter, it was emphasized that this unanimously adopted decision rejecting Armenia’s request once again confirmed that Azerbaijan’s establishment of a border checkpoint on its territory is its sovereign right. It was noted that Azerbaijan established the Lachin border checkpoint on 23 April 2023 in order to prevent Armenia’s abuse of the Lachin road for military purposes, the transportation of our country’s natural resources, as well as the continuation of the mine threat. It was stated that, until the provocation committed by Armenia on 15 June 2023, the safe and transparent passage of more than 2,000 residents of Armenian origin had been ensured through this border checkpoint.
It was emphasized that, after the attack that resulted in the wounding of a serviceman of the State Border Service, Armenia’s assessment as a “blockade” of the relevant measures taken by Azerbaijan in order to investigate the causes of this provocation and ensure the security of the border checkpoint is groundless.
It was stated that, despite the efforts made by Azerbaijan towards regulating passage through the border checkpoint, since no guarantee has been provided by Armenia that the same provocation will not be committed again, the Lachin road is currently being used only for medical purposes through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
However, it was noted in the letter that the use of the Aghdam-Khankendi road had been proposed by our side in order to supply residents of Armenian origin with more products, while Armenia objected to this proposal.
It was noted that, despite the fact that the side creating restrictions on the use of the Lachin road, as well as objecting to the proposal to meet the needs of Armenian residents through the Aghdam-Khankendi road, is Armenia, Armenia continues to mislead the international community with absurd allegations regarding the “blockade of Armenian residents by Azerbaijan.”
At the end of the letter, it was emphasized that Azerbaijan is committed to efforts towards the establishment of peace and security in the region, and in this regard, that it is important for the international community to also call on Armenia to demonstrate a constructive approach in efforts to achieve sustainable peace.
The full text of the letter can be accessed through this link https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n23/215/45/pdf/n2321545.pdf.