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Unobstructed Movement Through Lachin Border Checkpoint of Azerbaijan Continues

By Ilham Karimli May 17, 2023

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Azerbaijan began on April 23 installing a checkpoint on the border with Armenia at the entrance of the Lachin road which connects the Karabakh (Garabagh) region of Azerbaijan with Armenia / Azertag

Video footage from the new checkpoint of Azerbaijan on the border with Armenia has shown the control point operating smoothly in line with legal procedures.

The video went viral on Monday on the local media outlets in Azerbaijan. The Armenian residents of the Karabakh (Garabagh) region were seen to freely enter the territory of Azerbaijan after the necessary document control.

Azerbaijan began on April 23 installing a checkpoint on the border with Armenia at the entrance of the Lachin road which connects the Karabakh (Garabagh) region of Azerbaijan with Armenia. According to the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan, the border checkpoint's installation came as part of the efforts to prevent the continued systematic and large-scale misuse of the road by Armenia. The ministry stated that over 2,700 anti-personnel landmines produced by Armenia in 2021 and detected in the Lachin and Kalbajar districts of Azerbaijan since August 2022 were illegally transported to the Karabakh region through the Lachin road.

Azerbaijan had been insisting on installing a checkpoint on the border with Armenia amidst the illegal extraction of natural resources in the Karabakh region and arms transfers from Armenia to the region. During the plenary discussions on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February, President Ilham Aliyev proposed installing checkpoints on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border to facilitate the border delimitation process. However, the proposal was rejected by Armenia.

In early March, the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan reported illegal military shipment from Armenia to the Karabakh region on dirt roads bypassing the Lachin road. The illicit activities of the Armenian side resulted in deadly gunfire on the Khalfali-Turshsu unpaved road on March 5 killing people on both sides.

On March 25, the Azerbaijan Armed Forces took local control measures to suppress the illegal movement of military personnel and arms via the dirt roads bypassing the Lachin highway. The Azerbaijani army took control of the unpaved mountain roads in the temporary monitoring zone of the Russian peacekeepers to curtail illegal transfers from Armenia to the Karabakh region.

However, the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan reported on April 23 that two Armenian KamAZ trucks, 1 auto crane KamAZ, 1 UAZ-3151, and 1 UAZ-Patriot passenger vehicle entered the territory of Azerbaijan through the Lachin road, which led Azerbaijan to finally install the border checkpoint.

In the meantime, Monday’s footage from the checkpoint went viral amidst allegations by Armenia and its supporters about a “blockage” of the Lachin road. They claim that the control point helps Azerbaijan obstruct the movement of the Armenian residents of the Karabakh region on the Lachin road.

However, dozens of Armenians have been travelling unhindered on the highway almost on a daily basis.