No One Should Think That We Are So Weak That We Will Serve the Corridor on a Plate: MP from Civil Contract

“In the November 9 ceasefire agreement, there is only the 9th point that speaks about unblocking roads. But, come and see, the Azerbaijanis want a corridor, not a road. The Azerbaijanis will see the skulls, but they will never get a corridor; we don’t have one to give them, but we do have roads,” said Gagik Melkonyan, a member of the National Assembly from the Civil Contract faction and former deputy minister of defense, in an interview with Iravunk, referring to the discussions around the Zangezur corridor. He emphasized, “Let me say more, those roads we will give will be under our control. Let them come and go as much as they want, but we will not give control over roads to Azerbaijanis, Russians, or Americans. We are an independent, self-governing country, and we will ensure our security over the unblocked roads.”

“No great power should think for a moment that we are so weak that we will serve the corridor on a plate—this will not happen. By the way, there are currently three customs points in the Republic of Armenia, but Azerbaijan has made no movement through those customs points. Now we are also going to establish a customs point in Zangezur—no problem, let them come through that customs point; we are providing a road, not a corridor.”

“Can you explain the difference between a road and a corridor?”

“The precise example of a corridor is the Lachin corridor, which was under Russian control; Russian troops ensured security there. Indeed, there was an illegal alteration of the corridor. As for Zangezur, we say again it will be a road, where the security will be carried out by the National Security Service of Armenia, meaning exclusively Armenian customs points will be established so that we can control what goods are coming and going, who is arriving and leaving. I’ll use the example of the Georgian border: when we go to Russia, we enter Georgian territory, which allows us to transit to Russia. There will also be specific customs duties, which means they will enter through customs checks from Azerbaijan and go towards Meghri to Nakhchivan. There is no issue there, but I must repeat, they must pass through our customs checkpoints in the sovereign territory of Armenia; there cannot be any other option.”

“But it’s evident that Azerbaijan does not agree with your proposed option.”

“They won’t understand—we will fight. We must understand that right now, for the Armenian nation, Sardarapat means standing united and protecting our borders. Furthermore, our neighbor Iran will not tolerate the presence of a third country in that area.”

“But we have a weapon issue, don’t we? We are also clearly moving towards a peace agenda; how should we interpret this?”

“You should know a lot, or you’ll age quickly; leave weapons, and those who bring weapons—everything will be fine. Patience is necessary.”

“Mr. Melkonyan, Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan has said that military drills will last 25 days; they are abandoning the three-month gathering, but it will be compulsory for all conscripted citizens of the Republic of Armenia. How do you evaluate this? Will 25 days be sufficient?”

“Three-month gatherings came from the Soviet Union, there was a period of peace, and simply people went for three-month gatherings to prepare, and then it became one month. Our three-month gatherings started during the first war, and it was adequate for the demands of that time. Now we start three-month gatherings, and we see issues arise. There are people who have problems related to banks during those three months, wage-related issues arise, but if we prepare in 25 days, almost the entire population will participate in the defense process. One may have finished service ten years ago, another twenty years ago, and the attitude towards weapons is different. Now we are refreshing the memory; also, within those seven days, people will undergo all fire and tactical training, and during the last 14 days, everyone will willingly go to the front line. The other issues that arise are secondary. But we are preparing the entire population; we are making the entire population combat-ready.”