Armenia will never discuss provision of "corridor" to Azerbaijan: Pashinyan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Monday, May 17 that Armenia has never discussed the possibility of providing a "corridor" to Azerbaijan and never will.

Pashinyan said some political circles in Armenia are disseminating an Azerbaijani thesis about "Zangezur corridor".

"I'd like to stress that the Republic of Armenia has never discussed the issue of [providing a ] corridor and never will," Pashinyan told a Security Council meeting on Monday.

"The discussions we've had have been publicized and confirmed in the joint statement from January 11 and the official information on the activity of the trilateral working group. Yes, the opening of regional communications is indeed on our agenda but it has nothing to do with the "corridor propaganda" continuously disseminated by certain political circles of Azerbaijan and Armenia."

Pashinyan also said there is growing aggression by the Azerbaijani forces and tensions in some parts of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

On the morning of May 12, the armed forces of Azerbaijan violated the border of Armenia in the southern province of Syunik, advancing 3.5 kilometers and surrounding Sev Lake, which is situated on the border between the two countries but is predominantly a part of Armenia. On May 13, the Azerbaijani military committed more border violations against Armenia, advancing near Vardenis (Gegharkunik province) and Sisian (Syunik province). No official information has been published in the past two days. on Sunday, May 16 evening, opposition lawmaker Naira Zohrabyan said in a since-deleted Facebook post that the Azerbaijanis have agreed to withdraw from Armenia's territories with preconditions, failing to name them.