On August 30, a group of Nagorno-Karabakh residents gathered in Askeran, near the Aghdam road, where two trucks of the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society with 40 tons of flour stopped in front of the Russian peacekeepers' checkpoint the previous day. Those gathered rejected the offer to receive food from Baku as humanitarian aid.

Local residents set up tents and spent the night at the site of the spontaneous protest. Hayk Shamiryan, the de-facto Mayor of Askeran, said that those gathered had one message: they do not want to accept Azerbaijani cargo sent via Aghdam.

Moreover, David Ishkhanyan, the de-facto Chairman of the National Assembly of the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh, announced that there is a clear decision to keep the Aghdam-Stepanakert/Khankendi road closed, not to use it, Davit Ishkhanyan. He assured that these views were not ruling but unanimous. "On the Aghdam-Stepanakert road, there is a corresponding block-post of Russian peacekeepers, there is also a corresponding patrol control point of our [de-facto] Ministry of Internal Affairs, there are certainly relevant instructions, I can inform our public and the world in general that yes, there is a clear decision to close that road to keep, not to use, and our society should not have tendencies of mistrust and give different interpretations in this case," Ishkhanyan added.

According to the assessment of David Ishkhanyan, Azerbaijan is taking another politically provocative step, trying to show the world that they are taking all possible steps to ensure the needs of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Furthermore, Azerbaijan accompanied the diplomats of about five dozen countries, including Turkey and Russia, to the Aghdam-Khankendi/Stepanakert road to demonstrate the humanitarian cargo Baku intends to transport to Nagorno-Karabakh. Among the listed countries, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, the US and France, are absent.

As previously reported by Caucasus Watch, on August 29, the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society stated that 40 tons of humanitarian aid were sent to the Armenian residents of Karabakh on the Aghdam-Stepanakert/Khankendi route. In its statement, the society expressed its hope that the humanitarian aid will be delivered on time without any problems.