On March 30, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Artsakh reported that the Azerbaijani armed forces overnight blocked the Goris-Stepanakert highway between the villages of Aghavno and Tegh.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Artsakh informed that the new Tegh-Kornidzor dirt road in the Syunik Province, bypassing the closed road, is passable and ready for operation and given the ongoing blockade of Artsakh, it is possible to carry out humanitarian supplies to Artsakh through Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
BREAKING: The Ministry of Internal Affairs is reporting that the Azerbaijani armed forces overnight blocked the Goris-Stepanakert highway between the villages of Aghavno and Tegh.
The new Tegh-Kornidzor highway in the Syunik Province bypassing the closed road is already ready.… pic.twitter.com/Hc86SgavHY
— 301🇦🇲 (@301arm) March 30, 2023
According to Civil Contract Deputy David Danielyan, tensions have escalated in Tegh village of the Syunik province, as the Azerbaijani armed forces have reportedly advanced 100 meters into the area.
The latest statement from the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry indirectly confirms the report and the situation in the region remains tense. “In regard with the commissioning of the new Lachin road, several high grounds between Jaghazur and Zabukh villages of Lachin region, main and auxiliary roads, as well as large areas along the border were taken under the control of the Azerbaijan Army Units,’’ the statement said.
The National Security Service of Armenia published a statement regarding the advancement of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the contact line with Armenia.
- According to the agreements reached in August 2022, starting from April 1, 2023, the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor connecting Artsakh to Armenia should end at the Kornidzor bridge. From April 1, the route connecting the territory of the Republic of Armenia to the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor will pass through the Kornidzor-Tegh route, only through the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
- After August, 2022, a part of the road connecting the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor to the Republic of Armenia again passed through the territory of Azerbaijan after the Kornidzor Bridge. That part of the road along its entire length and its adjacent territory was controlled by the Russian peacekeeping forces.
- According to the agreements reached yesterday between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the border guards of the two countries were to be deployed on both sides of the border along the above-mentioned section in the last days of March.
- Map readings have appeared during deployment. In some places, the Azerbaijani side, without waiting for pre-arranged adjustments, has started positioning and carrying out engineering works.
- According to the calculations of the Armenian side, there are five such points, where the Azerbaijani side is located 100 to 300 meters further from the border. It has now been agreed that cartographers from both sides will correct the situation.
- The Armenian side approaches the situation with the logic of not allowing escalation.
- The RA army did not have positions in the area in question, because positions are not located on the border line, but on the nearby strategic heights. And the protection of that part of the border should be transferred to the border guard troops, according to the agreement mentioned above.
Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan also spoke about the situation around the blockade of the Goris-Stepanakert highway during the government meeting and said, ‘’Azerbaijan is aggravating the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh by taking steps aimed at blocking internal transport routes. From the height of 20/54, Azerbaijan took under direct observation the dirt road connecting Stepanakert with the villages of Hin Shen, Mets Shen and several other villages’’. The prime minister also announced that “no changes have taken place in the Armenian positions’’ and reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment to the peace agenda.
Meanwhile, referring to the PM words about non-advancement of Azerbaijanis towards Armenian positions, the residents of Kornidzor village stated that Azerbaijanis entered the territory of Tegh village at night and started to carry out fortification and engineering works.
Along with this, reserve army officer Artur Grigoryan, the chairman of “National Control System” NGO, posted a video, in which Azerbaijani army units are fortifying in the vicinity of Tegh village, at the entrance to the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor.
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