David Babayan on the Current Situation at the Lachin Checkpoint

There hasn’t been any change in the operations of the Azerbaijani checkpoint established in the Lachin corridor; the Azerbaijani side simply presents it in a way that suits them, which is natural. David Babayan, an advisor to the President of Artsakh and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated this in an interview with Armenia Today.

“They had to act this way to show that people are freely passing through there, which is naturally inconsistent with reality,” he said, adding that only those in need are passing through with their relatives, and even that is accompanied by Russian peacekeepers.

According to Babayan, the enemies have done everything to make the checkpoint a place of abduction, violence, and, if necessary, detention of people, because there are relevant infrastructures created there. However, there are people who are in need and face serious problems. “Yes, it is a very heavy procedure, but if it is a matter of life for people, what can we do?” Babayan stated.

He described that transfers are carried out in two ways: through the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers. The latter, according to him, should always be present there, as anyone can be detained, and it would not be right to leave that to Azerbaijan’s whims. They always have someone accompanying there, which is a gross violation of the ceasefire, but it can still have a psychological deterrent effect in terms of providing some level of security.

The official from Artsakh noted that there are different categories of cases, for instance, an extremely ill person applies to the Ministry of Health of Artsakh, which in turn contacts the government or Russian peacekeepers regarding the possibility of transportation. Another person, for example, may have a seriously ill relative in Armenia or may even pass away, which also creates an urgent need to travel.

“It is natural that this does not happen on a daily basis, because it is not possible to do that every day,” Babayan noted.

Details can be found in the original source.