Details from the Meeting of the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan

The latest meeting of the tripartite working group of the deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan was held in the capital of Russia, Moscow. During this session, specific steps were discussed regarding the restoration and organization of railway communication along the Yeraskh-Julfa-Meghri-Horadiz route. This information was reported by the press service of the Government of Armenia.

It is worth noting that this is the 12th meeting of the tripartite working group co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Mher Grigoryan, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Alexey Overchuk, and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Shahin Mustafayev.

“The meeting was held in a constructive atmosphere. Significant progress was made concerning the coordination of organization methods for the unblocking of transport communications between Armenia and Azerbaijan. An overall understanding has been reached regarding the implementation of concrete actions for the restoration and organization of railway communication along the Yeraskh-Julfa-Meghri-Horadiz route,” the statement reads.

The results of the negotiations will be reported to the leaders of the Republic of Armenia, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The parties agreed to continue their work within the framework of the tripartite working group.

It should be noted that on May 30, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan declared that Armenia is ready to discuss issues of unblocking within the framework of two concepts. One relates to the infrastructures (referring to the railway), which must be Armenian sovereign infrastructures, while the other principle demands that the jurisdiction of the Republic of Armenia fully applies to them.

It should be recalled that the unblocking of the region and the restoration of railway connections were among the main issues on the Armenian-Azerbaijani agenda after the 44-day war and were part of the provisions of the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020.

Agreement on the construction of the Yeraskh-Julfa-Meghri-Horadiz railway was reached during meetings between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Sochi and Brussels. This route provides Azerbaijan with a railway connection to Nakhchivan, which does not share a land border with Azerbaijan.