Vardenis-Martuni Highway Operates Only for Azerbaijanis: Armenians Replace 70km Route with 500km, Claims ‘Pastinfo’

After the war, significant sections of the Vardenis-Martuni highway were closed for Armenians. Residents of Artsakh and Gegharkunik province are sounding the alarm about the urgent need to reopen the Vardenis-Karabakh road.

MP Taguhi Tovmasyan stated in an interview with ‘Pastinfo’ that she has been raising the issue in meetings with high-ranking officials for the past two months. The MP pointed out that point 9 of the tripartite statement made on November 9 clearly states that all economic and transport links in the region are to be unblocked. Therefore, why should the Vardenis-Martakert highway, renovated through the efforts of the entire Armenian community, not function for Armenians? “Azerbaijanis can travel from Drmbon to Karabakh with the escort of Russian peacekeepers. In this case, residents of Gegharkunik and Artsakh rightfully ask why only Azerbaijanis are utilizing that road. Armenians should also be allowed to use the road with the escort of Russian peacekeepers,” the MP said.

According to the MP, she has received complaints from many residents of Vardenis, Martuni, and Chambarak who work in Artsakh that they are compelled to travel there every day or every other day. “As a result, a 70-80 km road has now been replaced with a route of 400-500 km, which is absurd. The Armenian government must prioritize this issue for negotiations and deem its reopening critically necessary. After the war, some of our compatriots traveling through the Lachin corridor were captured. This indicates that we have serious security issues,” stated Taguhi Tovmasyan.

While she cannot provide exact statistics on how many residents of the province work in Artsakh, she noted that only 100 people from Vardenis are involved in the mining and construction sectors in Artsakh. “Now, they either have to change their jobs or travel 400-500 km daily and reach Artsakh through the narrow, inconvenient Lachin corridor from Goris. This is a concrete step towards restoring the rights of our citizens that the authorities must take. I have already addressed the Armenian Foreign Minister, demanding that this become the number one topic for negotiations. I am prepared to carry out even the most extreme actions to ensure our people's voice is heard, and we can achieve the reopening of the Vardenis-Martakert highway at all costs,” she emphasized, while currently utilizing diplomatic and political channels to raise the issue.

“The residents are furious. They intended to close several roads and conduct protests demanding an urgent resolution to the issue. I asked them to give some time and not to conduct protests yet. I will try to raise the issue through official channels, but if things don’t progress, citizens are free to choose how to raise their voices,” concluded Taguhi Tovmasyan.