“Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly’s statement on April 25 regarding the establishment of a checkpoint by Azerbaijan on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border at the beginning of the Lachin-Khankendi road creates a serious misunderstanding,” said Azerbaijan`s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as it commented on the statement of Canadian FM Mélanie Joly.
“It should be known to Canada that the establishment of a border checkpoint by Azerbaijan on its sovereign territory is the legitimate right of Azerbaijan and is well within the framework of all international regulations. The establishment of this checkpoint is a national security decision made in the time of continuing military provocations of Armenia against Azerbaijan, usage of the road for illegal activities, transportation of weapons and mines, and rotation of the military personnel of Armenia contrary to the provisions of the Trilateral Statement. In this regard, the allegations of the establishment of the aforementioned checkpoint affecting the peace process and stability in the region are baseless. In contrast, this step will serve to effectively prevent the stated illegal activities.
Furthermore, allegations of Canada that the Lachin Road is closed are completely baseless. The border control checkpoint will regulate road entry and exit from the border.
We declare that, in accordance with the obligations under the Trilateral Statement, within this measure in addition to the guarantees to the safety of the movement of citizens, vehicles, and goods on the Lachin road by the Republic of Azerbaijan, there are appropriate conditions for the transparent and regulated passage of Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan from this checkpoint in both directions.
In addition, it is unacceptable that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada mistakenly refers to the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan as “Nagorno-Karabakh”. Once again, we consider it necessary for Canada to pay attention to such points in the statements,” the ministry noted.