BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 11. Armenia misuses International Committee of the Red Cross convoys for illegal activities, Spokesman for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Aykhan Hajizada said, Trend reports.

"Azerbaijan had to temporarily suspend the movement of ICRC vehicles along the Lachin road, due to smuggling using ICRC vehicles.

Armenia even misuses ICRC convoys for illegal activities, undermining ICRC’s main mission for humanitarian activities and trust,” Aykhan Hajizade wrote on his Twitter page.

Since the day of the establishment of the Lachin border checkpoint on the state border with Armenia, the necessary conditions have been created for the movement of vehicles belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) across the border, which passed through the checkpoint after appropriate border and customs control.

However, employees of the State Border Service of Azerbaijan have repeatedly stopped attempts to illegally transport various types of contraband through the checkpoint on vehicles belonging to the ICRC.

Although the ICRC was warned about this through official channels, the smuggling continued and no steps to prevent this were taken.

A criminal case was initiated under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Until necessary investigative measures are carried out, the crossing through the Lachin border checkpoint at the state border remains suspended.