Are Azerbaijanis in Artsakh with Iranian Passports? The Artsakh Minister of Urban Development Comments on the News

The Minister of Urban Development of Artsakh, Aram Sargsyan, assured Sputnik Armenia that all measures aimed at ensuring security are being properly implemented in Artsakh.

Reports circulating in the media alleging that individuals with Iranian passports are involved in state housing construction projects in the Astghashen community of the Askeran region do not reflect reality. This information was provided by Minister Aram Sargsyan in a conversation with Sputnik Armenia.

“I was at that construction site 10-15 days ago, and there were no such people. It is excluded that an Azerbaijani works there,” he stated.

Sargsyan confirmed that all measures aimed at ensuring security are being adequately implemented in Artsakh. The entrance and exit of foreigners are checked by both National Security Service employees and peacekeepers.

“Everyone is being checked at the border. Even if foreigners come, all their passports are checked; everything is regulated. If certain people have been allowed to enter, then everything has been verified,” emphasized the minister.

However, he did not rule out the possibility that foreigners might be involved in construction works in other communities of Artsakh. According to him, local residents and specialists from Armenia are involved in the construction works, but there is a demand for every type of worker in the construction sector of post-war Artsakh, including laborers, plasterers, roofers, and many others.

“We regularly announce that there is work in all villages where construction activities are ongoing; come and work, and the result is 20-30 percent. We have approximately 170 construction companies, and I cannot know who works in all of them,” Sargsyan noted.

It should be noted that the publication about individuals with Iranian passports was featured in the newspaper “Haykakan Zhamanak” today. The mayor of Astghashen, Arthur Grigoryan, confirmed in a conversation with the newspaper that foreign nationals are participating in the ongoing housing construction works in their community. When asked if there are suspicions that the Azerbaijanis who have entered Artsakh with Iranian passports, he stated: “Ask the construction company, the government; they should respond to all those questions. I do not have such authority.” The newspaper was unable to establish contact with the spokesperson for the Artsakh Minister of Urban Development and the President.