On the evening of May 25th, it was announced that the Azerbaijani army had made advances in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to a statement from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan had taken control of the ground roads that were allegedly used for the transfer of arms, ammunition, and personnel by Armenia to Karabakh. No clashes were reported. 

In the days prior, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense had regularly released video evidence of Armenian convoys traveling along the ground roads with Russian peacekeeping forces. The Armenian side, however, claimed that the cargo did not have a military purpose. 

The Russian Ministry of Defense called on Azerbaijan to retreat to its original position, and stated in its press release that it was in negotiation with the Azerbaijani side on the matter. 

Baku, in turn, accused Russia of not preventing the transfer of Armenian military and arms to Karabakh. According to Azerbaijan’s position, the Lachin corridor, which connects Armenia and Karabakh, and which belongs to Azerbaijan according to international law, should have a border crossing point for both countries. 

The Armenian side, however, rejects this proposal, insisting on the exterritorial status of the Lachin corridor. 

The main Lachin road has been partly blocked for more than three months now, due to the government supported protests of Azerbaijani civil activists. Only the vehicles of the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent and the International Red Cross Committee are allowed to pass through. As a result, the separatist authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh have been using detour dirt roads.