Baku authorities refused to sanction action demanding opening of land borders

The Mayoralty of the Azerbaijani capital has found it inappropriate to hold a picket under the pandemic and recommended the organizer, Tofig Yagublu, a member of the coordination centre of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) and the "Musavat" Party, to send his demands to the government.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in late June, Azerbaijani authorities eased the anti-COVID restrictions, but extended the special quarantine regime until September 1.

"Since March 2020, the land borders of Azerbaijan are closed, but cargos are transported across them. Citizens cannot cross them. The absurdity is that our people cannot return to their home country through the borders," Mr Yagublu has stated.

In his opinion, "the restriction on crossing the land borders impacts the poorest segments of the population," since air tickets are very expensive.

However, as stated by Ilham Aliev, the Azerbaijani President, authorities have no plans to open the country's land borders yet; and they will be closed "for as long as necessary."

Earlier, the closure of the country's land borders was criticized by Elshan Gasanov, the head of the Centre for Monitoring Political Prisoners.

Let us remind you that the closure of land borders created problems for many Azerbaijani citizens who wanted to return to their homeland since the onset of the pandemic. In April 2020, migrants began accumulating on the Dagestan side.