In a letter of address to the UN Secretary-General, Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov provided detailed information
about the illegal exploitation of mineral deposits in the territory
of Azerbaijan.
The letter drew attention to Armenia’s attempts to politicize
the protests of Azerbaijani activists on the Lachin road against
illegal economic activities in the territories of Azerbaijan, where
the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed,
calling it a “humanitarian crisis”.
In keeping with the document, starting from December 3, 2022,
representatives of state agencies of Azerbaijan held negotiations
with the command of the peacekeeping contingent regarding the
illegal exploitation of mineral deposits, the environmental and
other consequences arising from this, and, despite the agreement
reached, obstacles were created for admission of representatives of
Azerbaijan to the indicated deposits on December 10.
The letter emphasizes that there are no restrictions on the
movement of cars on the Lachin road, the Azerbaijani protesters
have no intention of stopping traffic on the road, on the contrary,
they are ready to facilitate the movement of civilian vehicles, in
particular ambulances, and the Azerbaijani side has taken steps to
encourage dialogue with local Armenian residents.
The ministry further stated that Azerbaijan is constantly
fulfilling its obligations, while Armenia is grossly violating the
tripartite statement and using the Lachin road for illegal military
operations.
The letter also touched on the topic of landmines, noting their
grave consequences.
“Since the end of the Patriotic War of 2020, 276 of our citizens
have suffered from mine explosions, and 35 of the 46 victims were
civilians,” the ministry said.
The letter was published as a document of the Security
Council.
—
Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @SabinaMmdl
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
