According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, there is a separate agreement that military cargo should not be transported through the Lachin Corridor. However, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's office denies the existence of such an arrangement.

During the press conference on January 18, 2023, Sergey Lavrov announced the following.

"Yesterday I spoke with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan. Lachin Corridor, according to the agreements reached by the leaders of the three countries in 2020. on November 9, should be open for the movement of goods, civilians, and vehicles in both directions. It is clear that a separate agreement was reached there that no military cargo should pass that way."

In the tripartite statement of November 9, however, there is nothing about military cargo. Point 6 of the statement only states the following: "The Republic of Azerbaijan guarantees the safety of movement of citizens, vehicles, and cargo in both directions through the Lachin Corridor."

Considering this fact, we sent a request to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's staff, asking them to clarify the following questions:

• Has Armenia reached a written or verbal agreement with Azerbaijan or any other state that military cargo should not be transported through the Lachin Corridor?
• If so, with which state/states was this agreement reached?
• If the agreement is in process, what document was signed?

In response to our inquiry, the Prime Minister's Office stated the following:

"The text of the tripartite declaration of November 9 is fully published, and the regime of the Lachin Corridor is regulated according to Clause 6 of the Declaration. There is no other agreement on the Lachin Corridor."

Thus, the Armenian government claims that no such agreement was reached, according to which no military cargo should be transported through the Lachin Corridor.

A few days ago, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh issued a statement, which stated that in the tripartite declaration, there is no restriction on the transportation of goods according to their nature, purpose, or application.

"Azerbaijan has only one obligation towards the Lachin Corridor: not to obstruct the movement in any way," the statement read.

The Artsakh MFA also stressed that recently the Azerbaijani authorities often arbitrarily interpret the 6th point of the tripartite statement of November 9, regarding the activities of the Lachin Corridor.

It should be reminded that during the same press conference, Lavrov announced that the Azerbaijanis gave them information that the Armenian side moved mines through the Lachin corridor, and then they were used to mine the areas near the Azerbaijani positions. According to Lavrov, the Russian side is checking these data.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani side made accusations against Armenia that "Armenia uses the Lachin Corridor for non-humanitarian purposes, which is prohibited." Azerbaijan allegedly discovered mines produced in Armenia in 2021 on its territory. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia responded to this statement, stating that these mines appeared in Azerbaijan from the territories of Armenia, which were occupied in 2021-2022. As a result of the aggression against RA.

Thus, Azerbaijan declares that Armenia "transported mines through the Lachin Corridor, used them for non-humanitarian purposes, which is prohibited."

Sergey Lavrov claims that there is an agreement that military cargo should not be transported through the Lachin Corridor. Meanwhile, the Armenian government denies that there is such an agreement and refers to the statement of November 9. And in this statement, let's remind, nothing is mentioned about the nature of the cargo being transported. As for transporting mines through the Lachin Corridor, it is false information spread by the Azerbaijani side, and the Armenian Foreign Ministry has already denied that news.

Photo: RA Prime Minister's Office (2021)

Anna Sahakyan