We Have Not Discussed Issues of Communications in the Context of Corridor Logic: Pashinyan

“There is a lot of talk about demarcation, delimitation, and the clarification of borders, and now they are trying to intimidate and scare the Armenian public with this fact. I want to state with full responsibility, and this is my position, that the clarification of borders is necessary for Armenia as much as it is for Azerbaijan. Because border clarification, recording, and ultimately, demarcation and delimitation at some stage are crucial security guarantees. However, we must understand that this is not a simple process. For instance, today, among post-Soviet countries, I do not know, in any case, there is no country in our region that has completed the demarcation and delimitation process.

To make it clear to the public, I want to explain what delimitation is and what demarcation is. Delimitation is the process where borders are drawn on maps, agreed upon for maps, and demarcation, on the ground, is about fixing which specific point corresponds to the point marked on the map. As much as GPS and so on are discussed, that is, it is checked with GPS whether this point is the one marked on the map.

I find it very important to reiterate that the opening of communications in the region is one of our government’s priorities because the opening of communications is as necessary for Azerbaijan as it is for the Republic of Armenia. I want to draw everyone’s attention to the fact that since 1992, a policy of blockade has been adopted against Armenia, i.e., a policy of closing communications. Due to this fact, we must understand that an agenda focused on the opening of communications is beneficial for the Republic of Armenia.

On the other hand, as I have repeatedly noted – you know, I don’t think we should declare this every day, I say it for all times – we have not discussed, are not discussing, and will not discuss the issue of communications in the context of ‘corridor’ logic.

I also want to emphasize the following: a very important note is that the international community – increasingly active, the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group are talking about the necessity of a long-term political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Why is this important? It is important because there is an assertion that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is resolved. I think we can now state – the international community confirms that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is not settled and still needs to be resolved.

I want to highlight our government’s political will – yes, to go and resolve the issue. For what purpose? Because the resolution of all these difficult, painful, problematic issues is necessary for us in the long run to exclude the possibility of war and to open an era of peaceful development for the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people. This is not an easy task. This is an extremely difficult task. It requires political will, it requires the ability to endure blows, and it requires open, honest, and sincere dialogue with the public, and we will go down that path.”