Question: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan once again claims that during the trilateral meeting held in Brussels on July 15 with the participation of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the President of the European Council, an agreement was reached on ensuring the transportation of cargo to Nagorno-Karabakh by other routes. How would you comment on these claims?

Answer: We would like to stress that during the trilateral meeting held in Brussels on July 15 with the participation of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the President of the European Council no agreement was made on alternative routes for transportation of cargo to Nagorno-Karabakh. Moreover, the Republic of Armenia has no authority and cannot discuss issues related to other roads for cargo transportation to Nagorno-Karabakh.   

The Republic of Armenia has reiterated many times its principled position on the imperative to lift the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor in accordance with the Trilateral statement of November 9, 2020 and the legally binding orders of the International Court of Justice of February 22 and July 6, 2023. 

It is noteworthy that the statements made by the President of the European Council after the meeting on July 15, as well as by his spokesperson on September 1, do not indicate such an "agreement". Azerbaijan, following its established pattern of behaviour, tries to manipulate various references to the topic and present them as an agreement. In their statements, international partners have continuously and unequivocally emphasised the importance of lifting the blockade of the Lachin corridor and that recalling other roads cannot be seen as an alternative to Azerbaijan's obligation to lift the blockade of the Lachin corridor.

Once again, we firmly emphasise that the Republic of Armenia has in its agenda only the issue of lifting the blockade of the Lachin corridor, the road established to ensure the unimpeded connection between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, and Armenia is not going to get engaged in discussions on any other roads.