Status Uncertainty is a Direct Blow to Artsakh's Security: Tigran Abrahamyan

The 9th point of the tripartite statement by the Prime Minister of Armenia, the President of Azerbaijan, and the President of Russia establishes that "all economic and transport links in the region are unblocked. The Republic of Armenia guarantees the security of transport links between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, facilitating the unhindered movement of citizens, vehicles, and goods in both directions." This was noted in an article published by Tigran Abrahamyan, head of the 'Henarot' analytical center.

"The control of transport communications is carried out by the bodies of the Russian Federal Security Service's Border Guard. This point also states that with the consent of the parties, the construction of new transport routes connecting the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the western regions of Azerbaijan will be ensured. Does this provision of the statement align with Armenia's interests, and why are Azerbaijan and Turkey trying to achieve the unblocking of transport links at all costs? Is it not strange that on one hand, Turkey and Azerbaijan continue to threaten Armenia, yet they do everything to open and ensure the uninterrupted operation of regional communications?"

"At the same time, let us remember that the issue of Artsakh's status remains unresolved, and thus the fate of our compatriots living there remains uncertain, which naturally brings with it other problems. The uncertainty of the status is a direct blow to Artsakh's security; at this moment, the security guarantees invested in Artsakh are also not complete, which has led to a number of incidents after the November 10 statement."

"On the other hand, the 8th point of the tripartite statement states that there is an exchange of prisoners of war, hostages, and other detained persons, as well as the bodies of the deceased; however, so far this process has only partially occurred. At least 120 Armenian prisoners of war continue to remain in Baku, while the number of those missing in action exceeds 1000. Under these circumstances, Azerbaijan openly declares that the prisoners of war in its country are military criminals and must be held legally accountable under Azerbaijani laws. In these conditions, setting aside the very sensitive security and humanitarian issues to move to another highly risky process has no justification whatsoever. Without discussing the economic threats of this process yet, it is a topic that economists speak about in considerable detail."

"Unlike the roads passing through the Syunik region that serve Azerbaijani interests, the security of roads in Armenia that may be used is dependent upon Azerbaijan, and in this context, it is difficult to talk about security guarantees. The primary objective of Azerbaijan and Turkey, defined for them in the medium to long term, is to establish land connections with Nakhchivan and Azerbaijan at the expense of Armenia's territorial integrity. Simply put, the activated approach in Azerbaijan that Zangezur is part of Azerbaijan's historical territory distinctly announces Azerbaijan's and Turkey's next target and the next direction of their blow. Moreover, these threats take on a sharper nature amid ongoing new dangerous developments and confrontations in the region."