Yerevan demands to coordinate with it the construction of a road in Azerbaijan

Baku/04.08.22/Turan: No one agreed with Armenia on the construction plan for a new route of the Lachin corridor, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this at a government meeting on Thursday.

He accused Azerbaijan of violating the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020. Thus, paragraph 6 of this document says that "by agreement of the parties, a plan for the construction of a new traffic route along the Lachin corridor will be determined in the next three years, providing a connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, with the subsequent redeployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to protect this route".

So far, there is not an agreed construction plan by the three parties. Therefore, Azerbaijan's demands to transfer control over the Lachin corridor to it are arbitrary.

At the same time, he acknowledged that Armenia has begun construction of the Kornidzor-Tekh road, which should be connected to the new route of the Lachin corridor.

Then Pashinyan made an important remark that explains the reason for Armenia's refusal to use the new route.

“The plan for the construction of an alternative road should clarify a number of critical issues, including the supply of electricity and gas to Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as security issues,” Pashinyan said.

Further, he stated the need to clarify the details of the Russian peacekeeping operation in Karabakh. Pashinyan accused the peacekeepers of condoning the “capture in December 2020 of the villages of Khtzaberd and Khin Taher and the capture of the Armenian military there”, as well as the capture of the village of Farukh in March 2022.

The inaction of peacekeepers in this situation is unacceptable, Pashinyan said. “Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh,” he added.

According to Pashinyan, Azerbaijan refused to sign the mandate of the peacekeepers, although Armenia signed it  in November 2020. "We expect that this mandate, signed in a bilateral format, will be in full force," he added.

Further, he expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that peacekeepers do not guard the line of contact - their area of ​​responsibility. He also accused Azerbaijan of seeking to abolish the existence of the concept of "Nagorno-Karabakh", calling it a violation of the tripartite statement. The presence of the line of contact and the Lachin corridor, which provides communication with Armenia, was also recorded.

“Armenia hopes that any attempt to violate the line of contact will be stopped by Russian peacekeepers, and the Azerbaijani units that violated it will be withdrawn,” Pashinyan concluded. --02D--