Azerbaijan saved Lachin city, Zabukh and Sus villages from occupation, putting an end to 30 years of lawlessness. All three places lie along the current route of the Lachin corridor, which is the road connecting Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh (Khankendi field). In addition to the strategic importance of Laç, it is one of the special places that symbolizes the occupation that lasted for many years. When President Erdogan read the poem “Araz” during his visit to Baku, there was a reaction from Iran. Lachin’s name is mentioned there.
“They separated Aras, they filled me with miles, I wouldn’t leave you, they separated me hard. Ay Laçın, can Laçin, last year sacrifice Laçin’…”
We first shared the details of the historical development in Laçin from this column.
The reason why we say “Khankendi field” instead of Nagorno-Karabakh is that Karabakh is the territory of Azerbaijan as a whole. In the near future, it is very likely that Armenia will create a de facto situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and strive for a permanent status there.
the city of Lachin
For this reason, it is of great importance that the articles in the Tripartite Declaration, which resulted in the victory of Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020, and ended the war, are implemented within 5 years. In the article about the Laçin corridor, a period of 3 years was envisaged. According to this, a new Lachin corridor would be planned within three years and the Russian peacekeepers, who were protecting the old route, would be shifted here. Azerbaijan did its part in its own territory ahead of time and built the road.
As of August 11, he also put pressure on the Armenian side and demanded that the old corridor be completely emptied. Although there were some challenges to the decision, they all had to leave after Baku’s determined stance. In fact, Azerbaijan emphasized that Armenians living in this region would be treated as citizens.
Russian checkpoints are being removed.
Final Agreement Reached?
Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense shared the entrance images to the city of Lachin from their social media accounts. President Ilham Aliyev said on Twitter, “Today, Azerbaijanis entered the city of Lachin. The Azerbaijani Army has settled in the city of Lachin. I congratulate all Lachin people and Azerbaijani people on this occasion. Long live Lachin! Long live Azerbaijan!” Azerbaijan state energy company also started to restore the energy infrastructure of these three places.
The Armenian inhabitants of Lachin and other places (approximately 500) left within the time given to them. When the Lachin region was occupied by Armenia, not only Armenians but also Armenians from Syria and Lebanon were settled here.
Meanwhile, on August 25, the US State Department announced the appointment of Philip Ricker as Senior Advisor to the Caucasus and Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately reacted and said, “Attempts to revive the almost disintegrated Minsk Group may lead to the complete withdrawal of the United States from this process.” made a statement.
Because Azerbaijan’s desire is to completely eliminate the possibility of war with a final agreement between the two countries.
On the other hand, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia will meet in Brussels in a few days and it is seen that the Azerbaijani side will repeat its demand for the final agreement. A similar meeting will take place in Moscow between the transport/communication group attended by the Deputy Prime Ministers.
Azerbaijan is making an intense diplomatic effort to fully realize its success on the field, and of course, the fate of Turkey-Russia relations will also be effective here.