The Road Considered an 'Alternative' to the Lachin Corridor is a Trap for Armenians in Artsakh: Nahapetyan Raises Alarm

“Citizens’ Decision” SDC member Mikael Nahapetyan's statement.

“The road considered an 'alternative' to the Lachin corridor is a trap for Armenians in Artsakh. The newly constructed Kornidzor-Hin Shen-Metz Shen-Tas Versh-Lisagor road is a trap for Armenians given the climatic conditions in Artsakh. The road has the following topographical parameters: maximum real slope of 22%, average slope of 8%, and a drop of 868 meters over a distance of 17.4 kilometers. Although the new route is only about 3 kilometers longer than the existing road, under such topographical conditions, it will lead to a significantly greater economic distance in terms of travel time.

For comparison, I should note that the current road has a slope of only 17% in a short section, while the slopes in other areas are quite moderate. In that part of Artsakh, where there are at least 450 mm of precipitation, maintaining the roads under such slopes will be nearly impossible. Consequently, there will be recurring issues with traffic on the previous road, which Azerbaijan will undoubtedly turn into a source of humiliation and trade-offs. This so-called 'alternative' road will deprive Artsakh of a stable and reliable connection with Armenia during the winter season. I am not even mentioning the intended continuation of this road around the vicinity of Shushi.

Now, with these facts combined, is it normal that the highest authorities dealing with this issue are village heads? I am attaching a photo of a section of the road under construction and the elevation profile (the max and min slope indications written at the top of the graph do not reflect the real picture, as they are unregulated; after regulation, the real picture aligns with what I have written: 22%).” Nahapetyan raised this issue.

Auroranews.am is attempting to connect with the Artsakh Human Rights Defender's office and state agencies to obtain comments regarding the raised issue.