Setting up a checkpoint at the entrance to the Lachin Road on the border with Armenia has drawn criticism from various international actors.

The European Union, United States, and France criticized Azerbaijan's decision to establish the checkpoint on the only land route between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday; Russia has expressed its ‘serious concern’ over the situation.

Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesperson, said in a statement, “Azerbaijan’s establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process” and called on “the parties to resume peace talks and refrain from provocations.”

The French Foreign Ministry echoed similar sentiments, stating that the checkpoint “breaches the commitments made under the ceasefire agreements and jeopardizes the negotiation process” and urged for “free movement of property, people and goods to be restored” between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, also denounced Azerbaijan's decision to unilaterally establish the checkpoint on the entry to the Lachin corridor. "This runs counter to our call for reducing tensions," he stressed to the media. "The issue has to be resolved by dialogue, and we have to build confidence with Armenia as a basis to progress towards normalization of their relations,” he added. 

Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić also reiterated the European Union’s call to restore free movement along the Lachin Corridor and mentioned that the setting up an Azerbaijani checkpoint in the corridor is certainly a further deterioration of the situation in that area. 

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry released a statement expressing "serious concern" over "any unilateral steps in violation of the basic provisions" of the 2020 ceasefire. However, it did not specifically mention Azerbaijan’s action of establishing the checkpoint.

Read also: Azerbaijan Establishes Control Posts on Border with Armenia and Lachin Corridor