PM says Syunik not cut off from Armenia amid fresh Azeri provocation

PanARMENIAN.Net - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday, August 26 that the province of Syunik has not been cut off from the rest of Armenia, as the Azerbaijani military has blocked at least two sections of an interstate road in the country's south.

The National Security Service confirmed earlier that the Armenian side is working to restore traffic on Karmrakar-Shurnukh section of the Kapan-Goris highway blocked by the Azerbaijani side since Wednesday evening. Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan said on Thursday that the Azerbaijani military has blocked another section of an interstate road in the same area.

Pashinyan told lawmakers on Thursday that there is an alternative ground road which is now being repaired.

The Prime Minister said the Azerbaijanis have blocked the road, allegedly because of an incident involving Armenian soldiers stabbing an Azerbaijani servicemen. Pashinyan, however, denied the reports. The Defense Ministry too has refuted the involvement of Armenian Army soldiers in any such incident.

Pashinyan noted that the blocking of the highway contradicts an agreement reached between Armenia and Russia, according to which the Russian border guards are responsible for ensuring the security of the road in question. The PM added that the agreement was supposed to become a trilateral document but it never happened.