Azerbaijan's Deputy Prime Minister on Armenia's Proposal to Open 3 Checkpoints at the Armenian-Azerbaijani Border

Azerbaijan's Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev has addressed the Armenian government's initiative to establish three checkpoints along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

He stated, "We view the Armenian government's decision to create three checkpoints at the border with Azerbaijan as an imitation of fulfilling obligations outlined in point 9 of the trilateral statement dated November 9/10, 2020." He noted that the roads leading to these checkpoints, given the relief and climatic conditions, are unsuitable for transportation communication with Nakhchivan for most of the year and, even more so, for international transit shipments.

“Moreover, checkpoints are typically opened with mutual agreement—reciprocally—and there has been no such agreement with Azerbaijan in this regard. Therefore, the primary reason for not fulfilling the conditions of point 9 regarding transportation communication between Azerbaijan's western regions and Nakhchivan is Armenia's reluctance to present the optimal route for the proposed automobile road by the monitoring group,” he added.

He also declared that the speculation on this topic and the Armenian side's imitation distort the essence of the 20-month negotiation process, leading to its prolongation and, ultimately, to “Armenia's failure to meet its obligations.”