Today in Khojaly a meeting was held between Azerbaijan state employees and the leadership of the Russian peacekeeping contingent temporarily stationed in Karabakh, related to the recent obstruction of the road in the Lachin corridor. Russian military personnel were warned about the legality of gold-mining in the area.
On Wednesday December 7, representatives of several state structures of Azerbaijan – the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Service for Property Affairs and AzerGold CJSC – went to Khojaly accompanied by journalists.
In this city, located in the part of Karabakh,where the Russian peacekeeping contingent (RMC) is stationed, the negotiations that began last Saturday, December 3, were to continue.
Baku claims that in the former Aghdere (Mardakert) region of Karabakh, there is illegal gold-mining and exporting to Armenia.
When a group of Azerbaijani journalists tried to travel to Khojaly to prepare a report from the meeting place, the military police of the peacekeeping contingent tried to prevent them from entering the territory controlled by the peacekeepers.
The journalists still managed to get to Khojaly. But the commander of the RCC, Andrei Volkov, refused to give them permission to film the meeting itself.
The only statement following today’s meeting was made by the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, according to whom Azerbaijan warned Russian peacekeepers about illegal gold-mining in the area.