Deputy Prime Minister Excludes Discussion of Zangezur Corridor in Trilateral Working Group

Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan has ruled out the possibility of discussing the Zangezur corridor within the framework of the trilateral working group focused on the unblocking of economic and transportation communications. As reported by Armenpress, Grigoryan made this statement during a conversation with journalists in the National Assembly.

In response to a remark regarding Baku's mention of the Zangezur corridor, Grigoryan responded, "The term corridor is conventionally used to refer to a transportation route, but I emphasize that no such issue will be discussed even as a transportation route."

He assured that the discussions within the trilateral working group focus on various options for unblocking transportation communications, with the legal regulation being conducted exclusively based on the legal framework of the CIS, as well as international treaties and conventions to which Armenia is a party. "I have no other discussions in that platform," he stated.

Currently, the primary work is being carried out by expert subgroups. Regarding the question of whether the failure to implement point 8 of the trilateral statement—concerning the return of prisoners—hampers the unblocking efforts, he noted that even in an emotional sense, the atmosphere for unblocking issues must be much more amicable.

The question of unblocking all economic and transportation links in the region is one of the points in the trilateral statement made by the leaders of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020. A trilateral working group has been created under the co-chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan, with Mher Grigoryan leading the Armenian side.