In a Few Months, Azerbaijanis Will No Longer Use the Red Market-Shushi Road: Artak Beglaryan

A certain impudent behavior has been observed from the Azerbaijani side, including while crossing roads, but soon—in a few months—Azerbaijan will no longer use the Red Market-Shushi road at all. This was stated by the State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh, Artak Beglaryan, during a press conference, responding to a remark about the enemy exploiting Artsakh's roads with a hegemonic attitude.

“Significant work has been done and is being done, much of which is not visible. Of course, at this moment, the Russian peacekeepers are primarily ensuring security, and we have seen that, to a large extent, security is guaranteed. Certainly, there have been minor incidents and events that have warranted some responses and actions from the Russian side,” said the State Minister of Artsakh.

He mentioned that he and his family would remain in Artsakh, and they would do everything possible to ensure a bright future for everyone in Artsakh.

Responding to claims that soldiers have continuously received orders to retreat, Beglaryan replied that this is entirely a matter for law enforcement to investigate. “I have the same questions, but my appeal is not to believe every myth or conversation unless they are substantiated, and especially not to generalize them. If retreat orders have been given in 4-5 instances, it does not mean that there are orders to retreat everywhere,” he said.

Regarding the observation that the villages of Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd were supposed to remain under the control of Artsakh according to the statement made on November 9, but a month after the signing of the statement, those villages, along with casualties and captives, passed to the enemy, Beglaryan said this is one of the most painful issues in post-war Artsakh.

“I have many questions about why this happened, and in some cases, I do not have answers to these questions. One view is that this was related to the maps formed and signed based on the November 9 statement, which did not account for the presence of Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher in Artsakh. However, I cannot say whether this is the case; the relevant authorities and officials involved in the negotiations should provide answers. Another view is that the Azerbaijani side took advantage of the absence of Russian peacekeepers and continued actual combat operations, seizing that portion of the Hadrut region that we had managed to retain,” he said.

Citizens also raised questions regarding Artsakh’s infrastructure and water resources, to which the State Minister of Artsakh responded: “Due to the war, we have suffered significant losses in controlling our water resources or springs. Considerable projects are already planned; in particular, we intend to build several reservoirs to manage our water resources more easily. We aim to solve drinking water issues in all communities within the next three years, and specific additional solutions will be provided in Stepanakert.”

Regarding infrastructure, he noted that all infrastructure was severely damaged during the war and deliberately targeted by Azerbaijan. However, he stated that intensive work has been done in the few months following the war. “We can already say that nearly all of our infrastructures have been fully restored,” Beglaryan added, emphasizing that work continues.