No Mention of Zangezur, Syunik, or Corridor in November 9 Statement, Says Prime Minister at Syunik Marz Administration

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan led a consultation meeting at the Syunik Marz Administration. According to the Public Relations Department of the Prime Minister's Office, the meeting was attended by the Director of the National Security Service, Armen Abazyan, the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Suren Papikyan, the Chief of Police, Vahe Ghazaryan, Syunik Marz Governor Melikset Poghosyan, deputy governors, the Commander of the 4th Army Corps, Major General Artak Budaghyan, the commander of the Armenian Ministry of Defense's unit in Syunik, Argam Gevorgyan, and heads of regional law enforcement agencies.

In his remarks, Prime Minister Pashinyan stated, "Hello dear colleagues. Today, our regular regional consultation is taking place in Syunik. Since the 44-day war, we have seen changes in the security situation around Syunik, and that situation is further aggravated by provocative and contradictory statements made by the Azerbaijani leadership. I want to draw your attention to the fact that these statements contradict each other. On the one hand, the Azerbaijani leadership declares that it has no territorial claims or expectations from Armenia, while on the other hand, it speaks about opening a corridor through Zangezur by force. Today, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to refute its leader, stating that there are no territorial claims against Armenia. Nevertheless, my assessment is that these statements are provocative and should receive proper attention, response, and appropriate counteraction, including by our country's diplomatic missions in international forums.

But on the other hand, I want to again emphasize the following—in order not to give rise to speculation—that there are no mentions of Zangezur, Syunik, or corridor in the November 9 statement. The discussion is about the opening of regional communications, and in the January 11 Moscow statement, we have clearly recorded and interpreted what should happen—there should be the opening of communication routes in the region. If Azerbaijan speaks about a ‘Zangezur corridor,’ then by the same logic, Armenia can speak about a ‘Nakhichevan corridor’ and a north-Azerbaijani corridor. Because Azerbaijan can only receive such a ‘corridor,’ according to the agreement and documented written statements, that Armenia would also have to receive through Azerbaijani territory, including through Nakhichevan territory—both through the territory of Azerbaijan itself and through Nakhichevan. The opening of communications is an entirely different issue. However, to be honest, my interpretation is that the Azerbaijani leadership wants to disrupt the process with such provocative statements, meaning it wants to backtrack on agreements by escalating the situation in the region and continuing Armenia's blockade policy.

Since it has not been possible to address this fully before, I also want to talk about the border of Syunik that we have. What has happened? You know, the 44-day war unfortunately did not go the way we could have expected. And in a situation where our defense capabilities were not adequate and proper, it was decided to align the border of Syunik with the Collective Security Treaty boundary so that we could activate the collective security systems there. The strategic and military-political alliance with Russia is widely discussed, and I want to emphasize again that this alliance has expanded, at least—it is now affected by another factor, of course, the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Russian-Armenian military-political alliance also extends to the Republic of Armenia's state borders and within those borders.

And what are those borders? I want to emphasize specifically that these borders have been determined and designated by the Republic of Armenia itself—I have spoken about this many times—by the law on the “Administrative-Territorial Division of the Republic of Armenia” adopted on May 24, 2010, where the administrative borders have been drawn. Now, what do we read in the annex to that law, what has been determined—the description of the administrative borders of the rural community of Shurnukh in Syunik Marz. The rural community of Shurnukh is located in the eastern part of the region. The section from ‘A’ to ‘B’ borders the state border (Republic of Azerbaijan). The next paragraph states that the Shurnukh-state border (Republic of Azerbaijan) border line from ‘A’ to ‘B’ coincides with the state border of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The next is the description of the administrative borders of the rural community of Vorotan in Syunik Marz. The border from section ‘B’ to ‘C’ coincides with the state border of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. This is very important to emphasize because the Republic of Armenia itself has defined its territory by the law adopted in 2010, this territory where the Collective Security Treaty is in effect. I want to draw everyone's attention that it has not been mentioned that the border coincides with the border of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh, but it is stated that the border coincides with the state border of the Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan. And these are the chain realities that have led to today’s status quo.

However, nevertheless, our task is the following, and I want to emphasize that the level of protection and security of the borders of the Republic of Armenia, and particularly the borders of Syunik Marz, must be raised. The issue must be divided into two parts—first, border protection, second, the defense of the country’s security. Border security, as we have already agreed and made the respective decisions, must be carried out by the border troops of the National Security Service, while security issues must be, of course, handled by our army, our armed forces. I want to emphasize again that a large-scale program of reforms for the armed forces has already started in the Republic of Armenia, and this program is being implemented with the Russian Federation. In the implementation of this program and reforms, we must take into account and consider all the consequences we faced during the 44-day war.

Yes, we must have a strong army. We must have an army that is a worthy ally and also the main guarantor of the security and territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia. On this path, no one can stop the Republic of Armenia, especially since, in the context of our military-political and allied relations, we have certain security obligations, including ones of regional significance. I want to emphasize that when we talk about allied obligations—not only do obligations exist regarding us—but we also have obligations ourselves, and in this context, those obligations must be fully capable of being fulfilled, and the reforms of the armed forces must fit into this logic.

It is also very important to emphasize that the socio-economic issues of Syunik are likewise in our focus. You know that a working group has been established to address issues in Syunik, and that working group has made decisions; the implementation of the first projects has already begun, a housing program is being launched in the Shurnukh community. We are starting the construction of homes there. And again, one important fact—if I'm not mistaken, since independence, homes have not been built, for example, in the village of Chinari in Tavush Marz, just as houses have not been built in the Shurnukh community of Syunik Marz. This, of course, is a very sad fact, and it is very sad that we are starting the housing program in this situation and on this occasion. We will continue the implementation of socio-economic programs in Syunik Marz, and in this context, it is extremely important for us to also address the question of what reforms we need to implement specifically in the field of mining so that the Republic of Armenia—as a state and the people of the Republic of Armenia and society—can be assured that they receive a proper share of the national wealth and not simply have it remain under the control of downed individuals.

I also want to address the incident that occurred today in Meghri. It is clear that there has been a violation of the law, and I expect that the law enforcement agencies of the Republic will respond very clearly and firmly because we cannot allow a small group of people to create an impression, and overall, regardless of the impression, we cannot allow an atmosphere of impunity to exist in the Republic of Armenia. Mr. Abazyan and Mr. Ghazaryan, you are now here, and I expect that this issue will be resolved with very sharp and specific actions, and that those responsible will be held accountable in a manner visible to the public.

The representatives of the regional law enforcement agencies reported that the press releases related to the incident have been removed accordingly and sent to the police to determine the process according to articles 180-181 of the criminal procedural code. At this point, a criminal case has already been launched under the features of part 3 of article 258 of the Criminal Code, and materials from the police must already be sent to the Investigative Committee according to the protocol.

The Prime Minister's office also informs that, in the following consultation, issues related to the socio-economic situation in Syunik, particularly regarding the agriculture sector—construction of pastures, water supply systems, infrastructure, road construction, and large-scale development of the horticulture sector—were discussed. The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of ensuring the necessary conditions for the residents of Syunik that would contribute to their welfare and development. In this context, Nikol Pashinyan has given specific assignments to those responsible.