By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Azerbaijan criticized comments by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan regarding a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the situation surrounding the Lachin road.
“It is regrettable that the Prime Minister could not accept the rejection of Armenia's two main claims that demonstrations organized by a group of Azerbaijani environmental activists on the Khankendi-Lachin road were 'organized by the Azerbaijani government' and 'Azerbaijan's natural gas, electricity, internet, etc. in court,’” according to a statement by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
It said Pashinyan's comments on the ICJ’s decision are inversely related to the court’s ruling and is Armenia's effort to present “its dreams as if they are real.”
“First of all, let's note that Prime Minister Pashinyan's comment that the Court registered the claim that the Lachin road was closed does not in any way coincide with the text of the Court's decision on temporary measures, and the decision does not mention that the road was closed,” it said.
The statement also said the ICJ’s request is not the same as Armenia's, which it said concluded Azerbaijan "must see to use all the measures at its disposal." It said the court did not accept Armenia's claim that movement along the road was "free" and provided for "all" persons, goods and vehicles.
“With this, the court gave additional support to Azerbaijan's position and rejected Armenia's request that movement through the Lachin road should be carried out ‘freely’, that is, without any control, as claimed by Armenia,” it said.
The statement added that Pashinyan's statement “distorting the court's decision regarding landmines shows that the Armenian side is still abdicating its responsibility in this matter.”
“The Azerbaijani side has repeatedly stated that the use of the Lachin road should be legal and transparent, and abuse of the road should not be allowed,” it said. “However, Armenia's rejection of this proposal without giving any reason is an indication of Armenia's lack of interest in transparency on the road to Lachin and its intention to continue abuses,” it said.
Since Dec. 12, Azerbaijani ecologists representing nongovernmental organizations had been protesting Armenia's illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Karabakh region, where Russian peacekeepers have been stationed since the end of the fall 2020 conflict and a January 2021 pact with Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Relations between the two former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of fighting, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation. The Russian-brokered peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.