Azerbaijan undertook to repair the gas pipeline from Armenia to the Nagorno-Karabakh

Azerbaijan has begun repairing a gas pipeline from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, the de-facto Information Headquarters of separatist Nagorno-Karabakh reports.

“Thanks to the negotiations with the support of the government of the Republic of Armenia and Russian peacekeepers, which have been ongoing since March 8, the Azerbaijani side has begun work to restore the gas pipeline. In accordance with the agreement, gas supply will be restored as soon as possible, and the authorities of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) are currently making every effort to make this happen as soon as possible,” the statement says.

At the same time, the de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) called on all subscribers and operators of the local gas distribution system to remain vigilant and make sure that when gas supply is restored, there will be no leakage of blue fuel or any other emergency.

On the morning of March 9, sappers (military engineers with demining and machinery repair training) of the de facto State Emergency Service (SSES) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) began demining the area near the gas pipeline in the Shusha-Lachin section, which is under the control of Azerbaijan. After their completion, work will begin on the restoration of the gas pipeline, Hunan Tadevosyan, the de-facto head of the Public Relations Department of the State Emergency Service of the NKR Ministry of Internal Affairs, said.

“Negotiations (with the Azerbaijani side) with the participation of Russian peacekeepers seem to have yielded results, and now the sappers are already in place to carry out mine clearance work,” he said, adding that only after that it will be possible to proceed with the restoration work on the gas pipeline.

On the night of March 8, the Artsakhgas company reported that because of an accident, the main gas pipeline from Armenia to the Nagorno-Karabakh was damaged. Later, the de facto Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of NKR issued a statement stating that Azerbaijan was preventing the start of repair work on the damaged section of the pipeline near one of the combat positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

Azerbaijan opens border with Dagestan

Azerbaijan will open the Samur checkpoint on the border with Russia for citizens to cross from March 21. This was reported by an unnamed source in the government of Dagestan.

Repair work at the border checkpoint from the side of Azerbaijan should be completed next week, the report says.

About 5,000 Azerbaijani citizens in Dagestan are waiting for the opening of the state border. Of these, 1,200 people are in a temporary accommodation centre in the Kaitag district, more than 2,500 are accommodated in hotels in Derbent, some sheltered by locals, and about 1,000 more people are waiting for the opening of borders in the Magaramkent district.

It is important to note that Azerbaijan has a better relationship with Tatarstan than Dagestan because of its historical and cultural roots. Also, Tatarstan is considered by the Azerbaijani elite to be an “ally of Azerbaijan in the North Caucasus.”

Mission of UN, EU, WB visit Azerbaijan

A UN-led delegation, as well as specialists from the European Union (EU) and the World Bank (WB), arrived in Azerbaijan to examine the repair and rebuilding requirements in Azerbaijani liberated territory.

The assessment will be conducted using the Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessments approach (RPBA). The specialists will learn about the work in Azerbaijan's Agdam, Fuzuli, and Jabrayil areas during their tour.

Members of the delegation have already met with the leadership of the Interdepartmental Center operating under the Coordination Headquarters, which was established in connection with the centralised resolution of issues in Azerbaijan's liberated territories, as well as the heads of the center's working groups.

Nusrat Suleymanov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan's Foreign Policy Department and Head of the Coordination Headquarters' Secretariat, spoke at the meeting about the Coordination Headquarters' activities and emphasised the importance of the existing interdepartmental coordination mechanism in the implementation of restoration and construction work in the liberated territories.

Emin Huseynov, the President of Azerbaijan's special representative in the liberated territories (except the Shusha district) within the Karabakh economic region, said at the meeting that the experts who arrived as part of the mission will familiarise themselves with the work being done in the territories.

The experts were then briefed on the demining of liberated territories, the creation of city master plans, communications and transportation infrastructure, energy supply, the environment and forest restoration, the current state and restoration of historical and cultural monuments, and ongoing work to return citizens to the liberated territories.

The expert delegation will write a preliminary report based on the findings of the visit.

UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan: "We are a strategic partner with Azerbaijan"

"This year marks the 30th anniversary of Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom's diplomatic ties. We support Azerbaijan's sovereignty and independence," stated James Sharp, the UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan.

The envoy emphasised that his country aided Azerbaijan in demining the recovered territories. "British corporations, such as BP, are doing well in Azerbaijan. Education cooperation is fruitful, with Azerbaijani pupils learning English. Many Azerbaijani students are enrolled at British universities. Relations between the two countries are improving, as are political ties. We're working with ANAMA to demine the areas that have been restored to them. We are delighted to assist Azerbaijan in this regard."

"In his letter, the Prime Minister underlined that we are a key partner with Azerbaijan," the ambassador said, referring to the humanitarian assistance supplied to conflict-affected areas.

Earlier, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met with Baroness Emma Nicholson, the UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan.

Ilham Aliyev recalled with pleasure the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom this year, noting the sincere letter from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and adding that he, too, had sent a kind letter to the UK Prime Minister on the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

Aliyev stated that ties between Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom are at a high level and are strengthening based on strategic cooperation. He also stated that the two countries have mutual trust and confidence.