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Sabina Mammadli

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For 32 days in a row, representatives of Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations (NGO) and eco-activists have been picketing the Lachin-Khankendi road against illegal mining of the natural resources in areas under the temporary control of the Russian peacekeepers, Azernews reports.

Withstanding tough weather conditions, the number of picketers is growing, and new groups of volunteers continue to arrive in the area to support the rally participants.

Vehicles constantly pass through the road unhindered by the so-called “blockage” that is all over Armenian media. This way, conditions were created for the unhindered passage of multiple vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and five trucks of Russian peacekeepers along the road from Khankendi toward Lachin.

In a similar vein, Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that humanitarian convoys pass freely along the Lachin-Khankendi road.

“The public attacks and provocations of Russian peacekeepers are unacceptable to us. Such actions can cause significant harm to the Azerbaijan-Armenia normalization process,” she said.

Earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan suggested that if Russia "is unable to fulfill its obligations," it might ask the UN Security Council to send a multinational mission to Karabakh.

In response to that, Spokesperson for the Russian president Dmitriy Peskov said that sending UN peacekeepers to Karabakh is up to Baku and Yerevan.

"The topic of sending UN peacekeepers to Karabakh has been on the agenda more than once, but any missions can only be involved with the consent of both sides - both Baku and Yerevan," Peskov noted.

In his interview with local TV channels, President Ilham Aliyev shared that about four hundred trucks of peacekeepers have passed through the road in less than a month.

“Of course, they also take food and other necessary goods to the Armenians living there. We do not object to that. Our goal is not a blockade. As many times as the Red Cross has applied, permission has been granted. This is why it is just another anti-Azerbaijani show, I can't give it another name,” the president highlighted.

He noted that the demands of the protesters are completely legitimate, as monitoring, inspection and an end to illegal exploitation are necessary.

Speaking of Armenians living in Karabakh, President Aliyev reiterated that conditions will be created for those who want to live there under the flag of Azerbaijan.

“Just like all the other citizens of Azerbaijan, their rights and security will be provided. The incident that happened these days when a person was returned there, he was returned with his hands full, he was given two cartons of cigarettes, because he came to ask for cigarettes – shows that we will not only ensure their rights and safety, but they will live better,” he stressed.

The failure of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to prevent the illicit exploitation of natural resources in Karabakh has resulted in the ongoing protest on the major road that passes by Shusha. As a result of the December 3 and 7, 2022, talks with the Russian peacekeeping command, a delegation comprising specialists from the Ministries of Economy, Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Property Service under the Ministry of Economy, and AzerGold Company was to conduct a preliminary monitoring of the illegal exploitation of mineral deposits in Karabakh, where peacekeepers are temporarily stationed, as well as related environmental and other problems.

However, due to the inaction of the peacekeepers, the monitoring did not take place and resulted in the continuous protest of the Azerbaijani eco-activists, thus paving the way for the birth of a new movement.

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Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SabinaMmdl

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