Russian checkpoint delaying 40 tons of flour aid from Azerbaijan to Armenians in Karabakh

By Ruslan Rahimov

BAKU (AA) - The Azerbaijan Red Crescent's 40-ton flour aid for Karabakh Armenians is stuck Wednesday at a Russian-controlled checkpoint on the Aghdam-Stepanakert road.

Two trucks that departed from Baku, loaded with the flour destined for Armenians in Stepanakert and surrounding areas, have not been granted passage through the Russian checkpoint, where they arrived Tuesday.

Azerbaijan Red Crescent officials spent the night in tents set up in the region and handed the quality certificate for the flour to Russian authorities.

Azerbaijan has been imposing restrictions for some time on the Lachin-Stepanakert road -- which Armenians living in Karabakh use to travel to and from Armenia -- citing border guards being fired on from Armenia and the transportation of smuggled goods with vehicles from the International Red Cross Organization.

Heavy vehicles are not allowed to travel on the route that is open to civilians, a source told Anadolu, who asked to remain anonymous.

Armenia's trucks, claiming that the Armenian population in Karabakh is facing a "humanitarian crisis" due to the closed road, have been waiting at the border for about a month.

The Baku administration said it will not allow shipments to its sovereign territories that were not previously discussed.

It proposed the Aghdam-Stepanakert road for shipments to the Armenian population in Karabakh.