BAKU. Feb 20 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan proposes to open checkpoints on both sides of its border with Armenia, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.
"I said [at a meeting with the United States' state secretary and Armenian prime minister on Saturday] that it would be better if Armenia and Azerbaijan installed checkpoints on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border bilaterally: on both ends of the Zangezur corridor and on the border between Lachin District and Armenia. We have made this proposal; today we did so officially. Before, this proposal was communicated through unofficial channels. Armenia did not voice any position," Aliyev told reporters on Saturday.
Both the U.S. and European Union think this proposal is logical, he said. "This is an important factor in the matter of normalizing the relations between the two countries. Since we are talking about border delimitation, that would be impossible without checkpoints," Aliyev said.
Another topic at the trilateral meeting was the situation around Lachin road, he said. "Of course, the situation on the Lachin-Khankendi road was also discussed. Yet again I stated the position of Azerbaijan that a blockade is out of the question. More than 2,500 Red Cross trucks and cars have passed [on Lachin road] since December 12 [2022] and if there were a blockade, how would they have been able to? So, it is a hollow accusation of Azerbaijan, we reject it, and one could say that at all the meetings this position met with understanding," Aliyev said.
The EU understands Azerbaijan's position, he said. "We are justly demanding an end to illegal exploitation of our mineral deposits, and until this has been attained, I am sure our civic activists will not give up on their honorable mission. This is what I was trying to get across today," he said.
In addition, Baku is in favor of a Tbilisi summit of the South Caucasus countries, he said. "The matter was discussed during my visit to Georgia. The Armenian side is somewhat dithering on this score," Aliyev said.