Hikmat Hajiyev: 'Lachin road is closed by Russian peacekeepers'

The Lachin road is blocked not by Azerbaijani protesters, but by the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation, Hikmat Hajiyev, assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Presidential Administration, said in a meeting with the representatives of the diplomatic corps together with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Elnur Mammadov, Report informs.

Hikmat Hajiyev said that the representatives of the civil society of Azerbaijan try to prevent the illegal transportation of looted natural resources; they do not interfere with the movement of other civilian vehicles.

A protest action is being held on the part of the road under the control of Russian peacekeepers in the territory of Shusha by Azerbaijani activists and members of environmental non-governmental organizations demanding an end to ecological terrorism in the Karabakh economic region.

As a result of discussions held with the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent on December 3 and 7, 2022, a team of experts from the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Service for Real Estate Affairs under the Ministry of Economy and AzerGold Closed Joint Stock Company were set to conduct preliminary monitoring regarding the illegal exploitation of mineral deposits and the resulting ecological and other consequences in the territories of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed. However, due to the inactivity of the peacekeepers, the monitoring did not take place.