The authorities in Stepanakert indicated at the weekend that they agreed to let a Russian Red Cross truck enter Karabakh from the Azerbaijani town of Aghdam in return for Baku’s pledge to unblock the corridor.
The truck delivered 15 tons of food and other humanitarian aid on Tuesday. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported later in the day an agreement on the “parallel unblocking of the Lachin and Aghdam routes.” The Azerbaijani side confirmed its readiness for such an arrangement, which is also favored by the United States and the European Union.
Hikmet Hajiyev, a senior aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, accused Karabakh’s “illegal regime” of obstructing the “simultaneous opening” of the two roads which he said was first agreed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in a September 1 phone call.
A Karabakh official, Davit Babayan, denied Hajiyev’s claims and said Baku itself is violating an agreement to reopen the Lachin road after the delivery of the Russian aid through Aghdam.
“Our people are in a situation where no issue can be politicized,” Babayan told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “We have never breached or distorted any agreements.”
Sources said that the conflicting sides as well as Russia and other international actors are continuing negotiations on the issue. Babayan confirmed the information but did not give any details.
The European Union effectively welcomed the shipment of the Russian aid to Karabakh. A spokeswoman for European Council President Charles Michel called it “an important step that should facilitate the reopening also of the Lachin corridor.”
“We call on all stakeholders to show responsibility and flexibility in ensuring that both the Lachin and the Aghdam-Askeran route will be used,” she added in a statement.