Azernews deputy editorin-chief: Lachin road functional against Yerevan’s claims

Orkhan Amashov of Azernews reporting from the venue of the ongoing protests on the Shusha-Khankandi road has stated that despite Armenia's claims about the blockage of the road, several instances of movement of vehicles have been detected in the area.

"On the first occasion, the cars, belonging to the Russian peacekeeping contingent, were coming from Khankendi and they pass through this location. On the second occasion, they were coming from the opposite side, through the Lachin road, and they also passed through. There was no provocation, so clearly, there is no blockage. There was a blockage and that was caused by the Russian peacekeeping contingent," he noted.

He also added that Azerbaijani activist Dilara Afandiyeva was asked for help by an ethnic Armenian from the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in a phone conversation.

"The Armenian lady said that there were 18 schoolchildren and their two teachers in Goris, Armenia, and they wanted to come back to Karabakh and they were unable to come back because of the blockage. Also, the lady said that the so-called NKR, that is, their illegal entity, is not letting them know what's happening here. So, it is a very clear indication that Vardanyan and his henchmen do not want ordinary Armenians to talk to ordinary Azerbaijanis," the journalist pointed out.

Further, he remarked that such fabrications will clearly continue and "clearly Azerbaijan is going to be glorious and all of the things are going to lead to something very tangible very soon".

Talking in general about the protests, the deputy editor-in-chief noted the rise in the number of people and the legitimacy of their demands.

"Just 40 or 45 minutes ago, I saw two vehicles, Russian vehicles, belonging to the Russian peacekeeping contingent. They were let through. There was absolutely no problem. People behaved very reasonably," he underlined.

To finalize, Amashov noted that the rumors about the blockage are "grossly exaggerated".

"There is no blockage as such here. People are simply protesting and they want to be heard. And they will be heard," he stressed.