If We Cede the 22 km of Goris-Kapan, We Will Have No Further Business on This Side: Kocharyan

“When the Council of Ministers of Armenia decided in the early 1960s to construct the Goris-Kapan highway, did the leaders at that time not know the location of Armenia’s borders? They were well aware, because no uninformed person could have been part of the Council of Ministers. When they built it at the expense of Armenia's then-state budget, they knew why they were constructing it and why precisely at that location,” said Henrik Kocharyan, Armenia’s first Minister of Transport and Communications, during a press briefing addressing the strategic importance of the roads in Syunik.

He clarified: Azerbaijan was attempting to establish major roadways through the left bank of the Araks River, and by controlling these, they aimed to isolate Armenia. Their intention was thwarted.

“The road near Nrnadzor was closed, and the Azerbaijanis could no longer advance. Later, in the early 1970s, when Heydar Aliyev tried to push this issue again, at the urging of Karen Demirchyan, we began to construct the Kapan-Megri road. This was another card we had that would put an end to their desires,” Kocharyan noted.

Kocharyan also commented on the current government's statements that the aforementioned 22 km of the Goris-Kapan road passes through Azerbaijani territory. “When we were constructing that road, were we occupying 'Azerbaijani territory'? Did the Azerbaijani authorities not see or understand that? For them, it had no economic significance because they had no Azerbaijani villages, no industry, nothing in that area,” he stated.

Kocharyan emphasized that only by presenting claims from a position of legitimate ownership and utilizing all favorable arguments will Armenia’s opinion be taken into account. And in the case of Goris-Kapan, the discussion is not just about the road.

“When you cede a road, it doesn’t just mean you are giving away a strip of land X km long and, say, 15-20 meters wide. Over the years, infrastructure, communities, villages, and production develop on both sides of any road. If we cede this 22 km, it means we will have no further business on this side,” he emphasized.