Azerbaijan on Thursday accused Armenia of intending to continue “illegal activities” on its territory over Yerevan’s rejection of a road into the disputed Karabakh region proposed by Azerbaijan.
"The fact that Armenia … rejects this road (Aghdam-Khankendi) by any means possible proves that the claim of a ‘tense humanitarian situation' in the region is groundless and that Armenia intends to continue illegal activities on the territory of Azerbaijan," a statement by the country's Foreign Ministry said.
The statement came in response to comments made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian during a government meeting earlier in the day.
It said Yerevan's repeated claims on the Lachin road over the past eight months show the country's intention to "use the issue for its political purposes and to obstruct the peace treaty negotiations that have been progressing recently."
It further said Armenia's claim that Azerbaijan is taking steps to carry out "ethnic cleansing" in the Karabakh region is "quite wrong and dangerous."
The statement defined Pashinian's conditions on the form of dialogue between Baku and Armenian residents in Karabakh as "unacceptable" and a direct challenge to Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
It also said Armenia is clearly trying to make the process of border delimitation between the two countries fail, given that Yerevan "does not fulfill its obligation to withdraw the Armenian armed forces from the territory of Azerbaijan, continues to provide financial support to the territory, and emphasizes its territorial claims in various letters, statements and speeches."
"Azerbaijan, as the initiator of the peace process with Armenia in the aforementioned areas, is interested in establishing peace, stability and security in the region and is an active party in the negotiation process. If Armenia is interested in peace, it should stop efforts that hinder the peace process," it concluded.
Karabakh has been at the center of a decadeslong territorial dispute between the two countries.
Azerbaijan in April set up the border point at the entrance to the Lachin corridor, exacerbating allegations from Armenia of a Karabakh “blockade.” Tensions soaring over the move left another half a dozen people killed from both sides since December.
Baku fervently denied the claims, saying the checkpoint was created in response to security threats from Armenia and citing the transfer of weapons and ammunition to the Karabakh region.
Earlier this month, it temporarily halted the checkpoint pending an investigation into the Armenian branch of the Red Cross for alleged smuggling.
The latest developments followed a monthslong protest by Azerbaijani environmental activists, which Yerevan claims spurred a humanitarian crisis and food and fuel shortages.
Azerbaijan insisted at the time that civilian transport could go unimpeded through the Lachin corridor.
In February, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the U.N.’s top judicial body – had ordered Azerbaijan to ensure free movement on the road.
The two former Soviet republics fought two wars to control the mountainous region of Karabakh in the 1990s and again in 2020.
Six weeks of fighting in autumn 2020 ended with a Russian-sponsored cease-fire that saw Armenia cede swathes of territories it had controlled for decades.
There have been frequent clashes at the two countries' shared border despite the ongoing peace talks between Baku and Yerevan under mediation from the European Union and the United States.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatists in Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan. The ensuing conflict claimed some 30,000 lives.
With major regional power Russia struggling to maintain its decisive influence because of the fallout from its war on Ukraine, the conflict has also drawn Western mediation efforts. Washington has been sponsoring peace talks, hosting ministers from both sides to hammer out an agreement twice this year alone, while the European Union has been mediating at the level of leaders between the former Soviet republics.
Baku and Yerevan say “tangible progress” was made at these talks but emphasize “more work” is needed.