Why Armenians allowed to enter Azerbaijan with closed land borders? Caliber.Az clarifies

On April 30, a week after the installation of the Lachin border checkpoint on the conditional Azerbaijani-Armenian border, passage through this point has already begun. The video footage distributed by Azerbaijan shows how the passage of Azerbaijani citizens of Armenian origin through the border checkpoint is carried out - in an organised and disciplined manner, in an atmosphere of mutual politeness. Azerbaijani border guards demonstrate high professionalism.

However, these video frames have also raised questions in Azerbaijani society. The main one is: "If Azerbaijan’s land borders are closed, then why are exceptions being made for Armenians entering or leaving the Karabakh region by private vehicles?".

The question is fair, and Caliber.Az tried to answer it in a broader context.

Firstly, the most important thing for Azerbaijan now is to break the fake "blockade narrative" actively promoted by Armenia. The border crossing is working, people are identified, transport is checked, and travel is provided. By the way, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said this in a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The head of state stressed that the purpose of the Lachin border checkpoint is not to restrict traffic, but, on the contrary, to ensure that control and passage are already being carried out through this point.

Secondly, even before the launch of the border checkpoint, Armenians entered Azerbaijan’s territory accompanied by Russian peacekeepers and the ICRC. That is, a certain mode of "exceptions" worked for them before.

Thirdly, citizens entering the temporary responsibility zone of the Russian peacekeepers in the Karabakh region do not pose an epidemiological threat to the rest of the Azerbaijani population due to their non-integration into our society at this stage.

And finally, fourthly: until November 2020, we were still dreaming about Shusha, and the idea of a checkpoint on the Lachin road seemed barely feasible. All in good time, everything will be adjusted in stages. The Azerbaijani president knows what, when and how to do.