«It’s My Private Property»: The Enemy Has Established a Checkpoint on the Land of Goris’ Deputy Mayor in the Vorotan Area

When from August 25-27 the enemy blocked the Vorotan section of the Goris-Kapan road in Syunik Province, and afterwards established a police checkpoint there, charging Iranian drivers fees, various representatives of the Armenian government stated that they were in negotiations to resolve the issue.

However, now representatives of the government are stating in various forms that the Azerbaijani side has not set up any checkpoints in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. This claim has been made by the Secretary of the Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, ruling party MP Vahe Ghaleumyan, and others.

It should be noted that traffic in that section of Vorotan is organized with the intervention of Russian border guards; vehicles gather and then the border guards escort the convoy. Previously, it would take 10-15 minutes of waiting before being escorted, but now the enemy only allows traffic once an hour.

While the government is propagating that the enemy has not established a police checkpoint in the sovereign territory of Armenia, Goris Deputy Mayor Karen Kocharyan, with ownership documents, proves that this area belongs to him, with the certificate having been issued during the Soviet Union.

In a conversation with 168.am, Goris Deputy Mayor Karen Kocharyan stated that the area where the enemy has set up a police checkpoint today is his. “If today our leadership claims that it is no longer our territory, it means that this area has already been handed over to the enemy. This area is my private property; my son once established a business there and was selling fuel. It is a large area, equipped with a building, fenced, and with a certificate of ownership. I can’t answer the question of who and for what purpose this property was handed over to the enemy,” said Karen Kocharyan.

Regarding the claims of the member of the National Assembly from Syunik, Armen Khachatryan, from the Civil Contract faction that one does not wait long in the Vorotan section, approximately 10-15 minutes, Karen Kocharyan noted that there is no such thing; the enemy has clearly stated that traffic is allowed only once an hour.

“There is a specified hour; traffic is permitted only once an hour. I hope that in cases where urgent medical assistance is required, at least our NSS will intervene through Russian peacekeepers to ensure that individuals do not have to wait an hour,” concluded Goris Deputy Mayor.