Humanitarian aid convoy leaves Azerbaijan for Garabagh
Crucial moment for “blockade” narrative

ANALYTICS  29 August 2023 - 15:00

A humanitarian aid convoy arranged by the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society left on August 29 for the Aghdam district of Azerbaijan from the capital Baku.

The aid package is expected to reach the Armenian residents of Garabagh. From Aghdam, a total of 40 tons of flour products in two trucks will be supplied to the city of Khankendi on the Aghdam-Khankendi road.

The Society’s President Novruz Aslan said the decision to send humanitarian assistance to Garabagh Armenians followed a statement signed in accordance with the decision of the Management Board of the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society.

“The management staff of the Red Crescent Society, including our volunteers, will move towards the Aghdam-Khankendi road,” Aslan said, adding the statement calls to help people regardless of their race, religion, or nationality, according to Azertag.

Aslan added that today’s humanitarian aid could be followed by additional packages of assistance based on the reaction of the Armenian-origin residents in Garabagh and the international community.

“If we can evaluate the outcomes of the process in the future, we can also deliver the other supplies they [Garabagh Armenians] need,” he said.

The government of Azerbaijan has been proposing to use the Aghdam-Khankendi road for freight supplies to Garabagh following multiple facts of illegal shipment attempts on the Lachin road, the only route connecting Garabagh with Armenia. However, the Armenians in the region and Yerevan turned down the proposal insisting on the use of the Lachin road.

In July, President Ilham Aliyev said the so-called “leadership” of Armenians in Garabagh had deliberately installed concrete blocks on the Aghdam-Asgaran portion of the Aghdam-Khankendi road to prevent its reactivation.

The Lachin road and dirt roads bypassing it have been used by the Armenian separatists under the patronage of the Russian peacekeepers for arms supplies to Garabagh. Despite multiple warnings by Baku, the illegal movements on the road did not stop. The Armenian separatist formation in Karabakh, as well as the government of Armenia and its foreign allies have been misleading the international community with reports about a so-called “blockade” in Garabagh. They are convinced that the authorities of Azerbaijan have been deliberately restricting the movement between the region and Armenia on the Lachin road, thus pushing them to look for alternative routes, including the unpaved roads.

The illegal shipments led in March to an armed incident between the members of the separatist gangs in Garabagh and the members of the Azerbaijani army, killing two Azerbaijani servicemen and three separatists. The skirmish took place after the separatists fired at the Azerbaijani servicemen due to their request to inspect the vehicle and the cargo inside it.

In April, the State Border Service of Azerbaijan installed a checkpoint at the entrance to the Lachin road to take the road under full control. Since then people and cargo have been crossing into Azerbaijan after a thorough control by the border and customs employees deployed by the country.

Nearly 25,000 Armenians reside in certain parts of the Karabakh region, monitored by a temporary Russian peacekeeping mission. Shortly after the war, the government of Azerbaijan voiced its readiness to reintegrate these people into Azerbaijani society in line with the Constitution and laws of Azerbaijan.

On March 1, officials from Azerbaijan met with the representatives of Armenians residing in the Karabakh region. During the meeting, preliminary discussions were held on their reintegration into the Azerbaijani society. In late March, the Azerbaijani authorities invited the representatives of Karabakh Armenians to Baku for a second meeting.

However, a group of separatists in the Karabakh region meddled to derail the process. They have been seeking a so-called status for the region’s Armenian population, demanding “independence” from Azerbaijan.

President Ilham Aliyev said Baku would not come up with a third invitation to foster the dialogue attempts since there has been no reciprocation to the peaceful integration calls of Baku.

Caliber.Az