YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The issue of installing a customs checkpoint in Lachin Corridor is out of the question for Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), because the Russian peacekeepers are already implementing that control functions, Nagorno Karabakh caretaker Foreign Minister Davit Babayan told reporters.
“Besides, in accordance with the 2020 trilateral statement there can be no such thing. It wouldn’t be a customs checkpoint for Artsakh, but a checkpoint for being led to prison, because they will take everyone. I don’t think there will be any retreat in this issue, that’s impossible. That checkpoint would grossly violate the essence of the agreement. The [9 November 2020 agreement] is a difficult one, but it must be strictly adhered to,” Babayan said.
Azerbaijan has blocked the Lachin Corridor – Nagorno Karabakh’s only road with Armenia and the rest of the world – since December 12, causing a humanitarian crisis. Azerbaijan also shut down gas supply to Nagorno Karabakh on December 13 but restored it on December 16. The Lachin Corridor remains blocked.