Ohanian: While we talk about unblocking roads, Azerbaijan speaks of a corridor

Leader of the "Armenia" faction Seyran Ohanian addressed reporters regarding the working group formed at the level of deputy prime ministers of three countries, which discusses all possible railway links between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Notably, Prime Minister Pashinyan stated that Azerbaijan should have the opportunity to communicate with Nakhchivan through Armenia's sovereign roads. Armenia, in turn, should have communication through Azerbaijani territory with Russia and Iran.

Ohanian believes that transport unblocking will, in itself, lead to encirclement. "There can be no unblocking of territories without a legal contractual basis and without a real assessment of security, economic, and demographic aspects. The premature opening of roads, when there is no peace treaty with the adversary, is inappropriate, especially when the adversary threatens and forces us into this situation. Instead of shaping our security system, we are begging for peace, which is premature. In my opinion, such unblocking will lead to deeper encirclement and economic pressure, with demographic changes particularly affecting Syunik," he stated.

Ohanian referred to the statements made by representatives of the authorities regarding the economic development that may follow unblocking. "I would like to see whether those representatives will send their goods through Nakhchivan or Azerbaijani territory to Russia. I believe that there must be complete peace, and for that, the adversary must change its rhetoric and demonstrate through actions that they are moving towards peace and must withdraw from Armenian territory, devoid of all types of pressure," he emphasized.

Once again, Ohanian stated that conditions are needed for peace; peace should not be begged for but rather imposed or defended. He mentioned that the war has persisted under the imposition of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem, which subsequently appeared at the borders of Armenia in various directions, demanding that a corridor be opened while the Armenian authorities talk about unblocking.

"As much as we talk about unblocking roads, Azerbaijanis speak of it as a corridor, claiming that many areas of Armenia belong to them. Moreover, there has still been no assessment of the fact that before the war broke out, Turks and Azerbaijanis did not have their agents, allies, or supporters in Armenian territory. All this indicates that, in the end, they do not wish for Turkification and the depopulation of Artsakh," Ohanian concluded.