The Azerbaijani military blocked the section of the Goris-Stepanakert highway between the villages of Aghavno and Tegh in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) last night, the country’s Interior Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

It said that the new Tegh-Kornidzor (Syunik Province) dirt road bypassing the closed road, which connects to the new Kornidzor-Hin Shen road (Lachin Corridor) commissioned in August 2022, is ready for use. The asphalt paving work on the Tegh-Kornidzor road is in process.

The Tegh-Kornidzor road is passable and given the ongoing blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, it can be used for the deliveries of humanitarian goods by Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ministry said.

The road is controlled by the Russian peacekeeping forces near the bridge on the Hakari River.

The Lachin Corridor has been blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December last year.