VIDEO: Armenian-Japanese Journalist Asks Lavrov About Lachin Corridor

At the annual press conference of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, journalists from Armenian and Azerbaijani media were not given the opportunity to ask questions. At the end of the press conference, Lavrov's spokesperson Maria Zakharova suggested giving the last two questions to representatives of media from "unfriendly" countries.

Mary Gevorgyan from the Japanese "Ci-Ci Press", stating that she has Armenian roots, asked about the Lachin Corridor, which has been closed for 38 days.

Lavrov responded: "For Japan, the most important issue is that of the Lachin Corridor." He continued, "Yesterday I spoke with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeihun Bayramov. According to the trilateral agreement of November 9, 2020, the Lachin Corridor must be free for the passage of goods, citizens, and vehicles in both directions. Of course, it is explicitly stated that no military cargo should be sent through this road. The Azerbaijanis have provided information that our military is studying, claiming that the Armenian side has transported mines through this corridor, which were later used, violating trilateral agreements, to mine areas adjacent to Azerbaijani positions. This has led to many mutual accusations."

"We proposed a very clear solution. The peacekeeping contingent that Russia has sent there is authorized to monitor this movement under the trilateral agreement, and it has all the means to check every vehicle for the absence of prohibited, inhumane, or non-civilian goods. A meeting took place yesterday or the day before between representatives of Azerbaijan and the representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh, with the participation of the commander of the Russian contingent. I believe the issue will be resolved in the near future," Lavrov concluded.