Armenia: “Unexpected third countries” back Baku’s road interpretation

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has said that sometimes “unexpected third countries” come to support Baku’s interpretation of a road connecting Nakhijevan to the rest of Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani side has on multiple occasions spoken about a so-called "corridor" through the southern Armenian province of Syunik that would connect Nakhijevan to the rest of Azerbaijan. The Armenian side, however, has repeatedly denied being involved in negotiations for the provision of a corridor to Azerbaijan, stressing that they have only agreed to unblock transport communications in the region.

Certainly, the military aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh was ceased by the trilateral statement in 2020, and the following and interconnected trilateral statements also emphasized the importance of unblocking the transport and economic infrastructures of the region,” Mirzoyan said.

“And here, in the context of unblocking all these infrastructures, the statements also emphasized the establishment of transport communication between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. We participate in these discussions within the format of a trilateral working group.”

Mirzoyan said Armenia has repeatedly stated that Yerevan is ready to open the roads for Azerbaijani passenger and cargo transportation as well.

“Certainly, we acknowledge and never question the fact that all infrastructures to be opened or newly built ones must remain under the sovereignty of the countries and operate according to the legislation of the countries which territory they pass, including the road you mentioned, through which Azerbaijani people can reach Nakhichevan from the main part of Azerbaijan, or, in general, citizens and cargo of third countries can use this road to reach their destination. We believe that there may be more modern solutions in this matter, such as electronic cargo declaration, etc. I don't want to go into too many details at this point…,” the top Armenian diplomat said.

“The main requirement that the Armenian side has in this regard is the following: the roads should remain under our sovereignty and operate under our legislation. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, we are facing the uncompromising behaviour of Azerbaijan in this matter. I should also say that we see other third countries, sometimes even unexpected ones, supporting the Azerbaijani interpretation of this road. I repeat, and we have said this many times, that there can be no question of opening a corridor through the territory of Armenia with any regulations specific to extraterritorial status.”