Baku accuses Armenia of creating obstacles to opening transport routes between parts of Azerbaijan

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of impeding the opening of transportation routes between its western regions and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

"Overall, Armenia putting forward proposals for essentially unnecessary, complex to execute, and practically lengthy routes serves to divert attention away from the process and obligations," said Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada in a statement on Tuesday in response to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's remarks that Baku has yet to respond to his proposals on opening transport communications between the two countries.

"It is well known that Armenia, having occupied Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized sovereign territories for nearly 30 years and causing the blockade of Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, has not made a positive contribution to the real negotiation process for the opening of communications in the four years following the 44-day Patriotic War," he added.

The Azerbaijani Nakhchivan region is separated from the main part of the country by Armenia's territory.

The spokesman stressed that while Armenia is aware of its written and signed obligations regarding the opening of communications between Azerbaijan's western regions and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, it has yet to fulfill them.

"If the Armenian side is genuinely interested in the opening of communications in the region, it should not evade its obligations and must take practical steps in line with the new regional realities to facilitate the opening of communications," he said.

Relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh—a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan—and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that opened the door to ongoing normalization and demarcation talks.

In September 2023, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh after separatist forces in the region surrendered.​​​​​​​