"When you are hungry, you should not set conditions": Aliyev's representative

The special representative of the President of Azerbaijan for special assignments, Elchin Amirbekov, stated in an interview with the French newspaper 'Le Monde' that according to the trilateral statement signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia on November 9, 2020, the Lachin corridor should be used exclusively for humanitarian purposes. However, it has been used for transporting weapons to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) and illegally exporting minerals from Armenia. He said, 'This is why we had to establish a checkpoint at the border with Armenia on April 23 of this year.'

According to him, Azerbaijan is offering to deliver food to Nagorno-Karabakh to meet the basic humanitarian needs of the Armenian population, using routes coming from Aghdam and Fuzuli, but the Armenians in Karabakh categorically refuse this. 'When you are hungry, you should not set conditions. What difference does it make which route the much-anticipated food will take—through Lachin or via Aghdam and Fuzuli? The main issue is to be able to obtain the necessary goods. But there is an artificial politicization of the issue to exert pressure on Azerbaijan from abroad,' he added.

He also mentioned that the Lachin corridor is closed by Azerbaijan under the pretext of military movements. He further questioned the number of Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh.