On April 23, Azerbaijan established a border post on the border with Armenia at the beginning of the Lachin-Khankendi road, the Press Office of the State Border Service of Azerbaijan reported.

"On April 23, at 12:00 [local time], the units of the State Border Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan established a border crossing point in the sovereign territories of our country, on the border with Armenia, at the beginning of the Lachin-Khankendi road," the official statement said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan said that establishing a border control mechanism at the beginning of the Lachin road will ensure transparency of road traffic, the rule of law, and, thus, the safety of traffic. "By the obligations under the tripartite statement dated November 10, 2020, within the framework of this additional measure to the movement of citizens, vehicles, and cargo from the Lachin road, appropriate conditions will be created for the transparent and orderly passage of Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan from this point in both directions to Armenia and Azerbaijan," the report added. Baku also stated that the mentioned control mechanism would be coordinated with the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

According to the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, around 20:00 on April 22, a convoy of vehicles moving from the direction of the Kornidzor settlement of Armenia entered the territory of Azerbaijan through the newly built bridge over the Hakari River of the Azerbaijan-Armenia conditional border. "After the cars returned later and stopped on the Lachin-Khankendi road on the territory of Armenia, on the border with Azerbaijan, two living containers were unloaded to a pre-prepared place using an auto-crane," the information of the Ministry of Defense said. "The observation confirms the establishment by the Armenian side of a border checkpoint on the border with Azerbaijan, at the entrance to the Lachin-Khankendi road, without prior agreement and in violation of the Trilateral Statement of November 10, 2020," the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan emphasized. The Ministry of Defense noted that the entry of military goods from Armenia to the territory of Azerbaijan was carried out with the help of Russian peacekeepers.

Response from Armenia

On April 23, the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported that the authorities of Azerbaijan, grossly violating the 2020 point 6 of the tripartite declaration of November 9, have already officially blocked the Lachin corridor, taking steps to install a checkpoint in the corridor in the area of ​​responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping troops.

"This action is being carried out against the unequivocal statements of the international community and especially the International Court of Justice in 2023 of the legally binding judgment of February 22. Moreover, the leadership of Azerbaijan does not even make an effort not only to fulfill the famous agreements reached but also to cover up its continuous violations of the fundamental norms of international law and, in every possible way, tenses the regional situation, preparing the ground for the use of large-scale force," the ministry said.

"We call on the Russian Federation to finally fulfill its obligation under point 6 of the tripartite declaration by eliminating the illegal blockade of the corridor and ensuring the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from the entire security zone of the Lachin Corridor and clearly record to the UN member states with an international security mandate Azerbaijan's actions undermining regional security," the report added.

Reaction from USA 

“The United States is deeply concerned that Azerbaijan’s establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process.  We reiterate that there should be free and open movement of people and commerce on the Lachin corridor and call on the parties to resume peace talks and refrain from provocations and hostile actions along the border”, reads the statement of Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson at U.S. Department of State. 

Military tension

Also, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan reported that on April 23, the positions of the Azerbaijani army in the Minkend direction of the Lachin region were fired upon by Armenia. It is reported that the incident was recorded around 15:10, and the army responded adequately.

The Armenian side called this information disinformation. On the same day, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia announced that one soldier was lost as a result of firing by the Azerbaijani army on its positions in the territory of the Skot region. 

However, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan denied the information about an Armenian soldier's death due to the fire opened by the Azerbaijani side.