According to Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, “Azerbaijan expressed its consent as a goodwill gesture to ensure simultaneous opening” of the so-called Lachin Corridor for ICRC cargo. The road connects the mountainous territory to Armenia. The acceptance, he said, would pave the way for a separate deal to allow passage from Armenia. “In the Lachin checkpoint, Azerbaijan’s customs and border regime must be observed,” he said, according to Politico.
For close to two months, aid organizations including the Red Cross have said they have been unable to transport supplies of food and fuel into Karabakh, despite a 2020 cease-fire agreement between the two sides guaranteeing free use of the road under the supervision of Russian peacekeepers.
The South Caucasus country denies it is orchestrating a blockade, and has insisted the Karabakh Armenians must accept humanitarian supplies from inside Azerbaijan.
MNA/PR