Azerbaijani police checks on Goris-Kapan road do not affect Armenian drivers

On the road from Goris to Kapan, Azerbaijani policemen do not inspect cars with Armenian state registration numbers, but residents of border regions prefer to use an alternative road. There are complaints against Azerbaijani policemen for their rough treatment, the Vice Mayor of Goris reports.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on September 9, the Azerbaijani side arranged a police checkpoint on the Azerbaijani section of the road from Goris to Kapan, and it began operating on September 11. The police checkpoint was arranged in violation of international norms, the Ombudsperson of Armenia Arman Tatoyan stated. Several days after the opening of the police checkpoint, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Azerbaijan reported about the detention of two Iranian truck drivers who transported cement.

The “Caucasian Knot” correspondent has been informed by Karo Kocharyan, Vice Mayor of Goris, that Armenian vehicles are not stopped at the Azerbaijani police checkpoint.

“However, there were cases when Azerbaijani policemen were rude to Armenian drivers when requesting them to quickly pass by concrete barriers. There is almost no traffic at night, because people are afraid of travelling through the dark,” Karo Kocharyan said.

Residents prefer to travel from Goris to Kapan along an unfinished road through Tatev so as not to meet Azerbaijani soldiers, the Vice Mayor of Goris has added.

According to him, a 21-kilometre section of the road has been under the control of Azerbaijan since December 2020. “The road is a serpentine there. In some places, it passes through the territory of Armenia, and in other places, the road goes through the territory, the control over which passed to Azerbaijan. In case if the road is closed, residents of three villages, including Vorotan, Shurnukh, and Bartsravan, will face problems. There are a dirt road and forest paths leading to villages, but they will not be able to solve the problem if traffic on the road is blocked,” the Vice Mayor of Goris explained.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 16, 2021 at 04:52 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.