Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov has held a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
During the conversation, the ministers discussed current issues of bilateral cooperation agenda between Azerbaijan and Russia, as well as the current situation on the Lachin road.
Minister Jeyhun Bayramov emphasized that the citizens of Azerbaijan have a legitimate right to protest against illegal economic activities, including the exploitation of natural resources and the abuse of the Lachin road in the territories of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily deployed. In this regard, the FM stressed the need to fulfill the legitimate demands of the protesters.
FM Bayramov noted that the accusations about the alleged closure of the Lachin road by Azerbaijan, the blockade of Armenian residents living in the territory of Azerbaijan, and the creation of a humanitarian crisis are groundless. In this regard, it was emphasized the fact that dozens of vehicles of the peacekeeping contingent, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Armenian ambulances pass daily along the Lachin road refutes the unfounded claims of the Armenian side.
At the same time, it was deemed inadmissible for persons posing as “representatives” of Armenian residents living in Azerbaijan to prevent the use of the road by the population and thereby artificially try to create the impression of a “blockade” and a “humanitarian crisis”.
During the phone conversation, the sides also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.