CNN Turk: Khankendi-Lachin road open, Armenian claims - groundless

Journalist of CNN Turk TV channel Ahmet Melih Turkes has said that the international community is not aware of the situation on Azerbaijan’s Khankendi-Lachin road.

“As for the situation in the area covered by the peaceful rally, there are temporary checkpoints of Russian peacekeepers on the territory, the Azerbaijani military is also serving here,” Turkes told a journalist of Report news agency in Shusha.

“Armenia is spreading false information about the blockade. When we arrived here, we saw that Azerbaijani youth, civilians, were on the territory. The protests have been going on for 34 days, despite the frosty weather, when the temperature reaches minus 10 degrees. We were frozen for a few minutes while filming, but the protesters stand here for many days, putting forward their demands. We were surprised. Azerbaijani environmental activists have said that they will continue protesting until their demands are met,” the journalist said.

“To be frank, before arriving in Shusha, I also followed the Armenian media, which reported that the Lachin-Khankendi road was closed and under blockade. However, we came here and saw that the cars of the Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross were passing freely along the road. This refutes the statements of the Armenians about the alleged blocking of the road. I think that Armenian journalists can also come here and see everything,” he said.