“The people of Artsakh have blocked the Askeran-Akna road with concrete barriers. The aim is to demonstrate their strong opposition to the import of Azerbaijani products, including humanitarian aid or cheap goods.

Senior Azerbaijani officials have recently expressed their willingness to send aid to Artsakh via Akna. In particular, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeyhun Bayramov, mentioned this during a series of working meetings. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, also discussed the possibility of using this route with journalists after meeting with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in Brussels on July 15.

Arshak Abrahamyan, a founding member of the public movement “Artsakh Security Development Front,” spoke about the protest action led by the movement’s youth wing and a group of Artsakh citizens who blocked the Askeran-Akna road on July 18.

“We have made it clear that this is a red line for us. Artsakh should maintain its social and economic ties solely with Armenia. Among our main demands is the dismantling of the Azerbaijani checkpoint illegally installed on the Hakari bridge, which remains our top priority,” said Abrahamyan, adding that under the conditions of the humanitarian catastrophe, they urgently demand the establishment of a humanitarian air corridor.”