Controversial Azerbaijani participant in Karabakh blockade among visitors to Yerevan

By Siranush Adamyan

A group of Azerbaijani experts visiting Armenia this week included Dilara Efendiyeva, one of the so-called “eco-activists” who took part in the December 2022 blockade of the Lachin corridor — the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.

According to Armenian fact-checking outlet Fip.am, Efendiyeva gained prominence during the blockade when she appeared in Azerbaijani state media as one of the protest organizers demanding access for Azerbaijani officials to mining sites in Nagorno-Karabakh. Independent observers and rights groups at the time described the action as a government-organized operation disguised as an environmental protest, aimed at cutting off the Armenian-populated region from the outside world.

The blockade, launched on December 12, 2022, led to a months-long humanitarian crisis that deprived Nagorno-Karabakh’s population of food, medicine, and fuel. It ended with Azerbaijan’s September 2023 military offensive, which resulted in the exodus of all of the region’s 120,000 ethnic Armenian residents.

Efendiyeva was among the participants of a roundtable discussion held in Yerevan on October 21–22 between Armenian and Azerbaijani civil-society representatives, supported by official structures from both countries. On Wednesday, Armenia’s National Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan received the group.

Armenian participants included Democracy Development Foundation head Naira Sultanyan, Research Center on Security Policy founder Areg Kochinyan, and Yerevan Press Club honorary president Boris Navasardyan.