Iran Press/ Asia: Since December 2022, the Republic of Azerbaijan has blocked the Lachin Pass, which connects the Nagorno-Karabakh region to Armenia. In this regard, Yerevan has said that Baku is looking for the genocide of Armenians in the Karabakh region.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia added in a statement on Sunday that Yerevan's evaluations show that the Republic of Azerbaijan is doing everything to make peace in the region impossible.
"To label the return of Azerbaijani IDPs (internally displaced persons) to their homes as a ‘violation’ of the Trilateral Statement and ‘illegal settlement’ is yet another clear manifestation of hypocrisy by Armenia,” Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada said in a statement, in response to a statement by the Armenian Foreign Ministry the previous day.
Azerbajinani official said that Armenia has acted in violation of international law and four UN Security Council resolutions by occupying Azerbaijani lands for nearly 30 years, and also “forcibly expelled about 1 million Azerbaijanis from their homelands, and brutally destroyed all Azerbaijani historical and religious monuments in the region.”
The blocking of the Lachin corridor in the Nagorno-Karabakh region by the forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan has led to increase of tension between Yerevan and Baku. The action of the Republic of Azerbaijan in closing the Lachin crossing caused many residents of this Armenian region to face shortage of fuel and food. The closure of the Lachin corridor drew a strong reaction from Armenia, Russia and some other countries.
After the 44-day war between Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2020, the two countries signed a ceasefire agreement with the mediation of Russia. Despite the signing of the ceasefire agreement, tension still dominates relations between the two countries, and Armenia has repeatedly accused Baku of violating the ceasefire. 219
