Baku Again Accuses Yerevan

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has commented on the statement made by the Armenian diplomatic office the day before.

"The latest statement by the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding ongoing protests on the Lachin road is completely unfounded and aims to create confusion among international partners and artificially escalate the situation," stated the Azerbaijani diplomatic office.

"It is not surprising that the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has completely distorted the complaints of representatives of Azerbaijani civil society, which are directed against the looting of our natural resources during the 30-year-long Armenian occupation. It seems that the Armenian side intends to continue illegal economic and other types of activities on Azerbaijani territory. We regard Armenia's calls to send any mission to Azerbaijani territory as yet another provocation directed against our country's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs' statement read.

It is worth noting that the Lachin corridor, the only road connecting Artsakh to the world, has been closed for the 24th day. Azerbaijan closed the corridor since December 12, citing false environmental justifications.

As a result of Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor, 120,000 people in Artsakh, including 30,000 children, 20,000 elderly individuals, and around 9,000 persons with disabilities, are facing a humanitarian crisis for 23 days. Due to the closure of the road, 1,100 people, including 270 children, have been unable to return from Armenia to Artsakh.