Azerbaijan is becoming “cynical” amid permissiveness and widespread concessions by Armenia, MP Vahe Hakobyan from the opposition Armenia alliance said in the parliament on Monday.
“Under the conditions of permissiveness and widespread concessions, Azerbaijan is becoming cynical: they have set up a police checkpoint right on the road near Vorotan in Syunik, are stopping Iranian cargo trucks and forcing their drivers to pay either a state duty or a customs duty,” Hakobyan told reporters.
In a statement on Sunday, Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) said that the Azerbaijani police forces were inspecting trucks with Iranian license plates on Goris-Kapan highway.
“The National Security Service issued a statement on the matter, calling Vorotan by an Azerbaijani toponym. What does it mean? Does it mean that little by little they are trying to make us think that it’s indeed an Azerbaijani territory? Moreover, Azerbaijani servicemen have already started preparing for winter in the area of Black Lake (Sev Lich), with active engineering work underway in the area,” the MP said.
Hakobyan stressed the Azerbaijani side could cut off Kapan from the rest of Armenia at any moment.
“Apart from security issues, there are also economic problems in Syunik. The Iranian share in the trade turnover is 40% and it is under threat,” he said, adding that a response from the Iranian authorities should be expected.
Vahe Hakobyan stated Nikol Pashinyan's immediate resignation as Prime Minister of Armenia would resolve all problems.
“It would be the solution to all problems,” he said.
