The Responsibility for Ensuring the Security of Communications Through Armenia Lies with Armenia: Pashinyan

According to the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, the responsibility for ensuring the security of communications through Armenia lies with the Republic of Armenia. This was stated by Nikol Pashinyan in response to a question from a Summer School listener at the National Assembly.

“Recently, discussions about regional communications have intensified, and there have been some misinterpretations in these discussions. Recently, a high-ranking Russian official stated that the trilateral statement of November 9 mentions that the security of the transport communications between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan is ensured by the border forces of the Russian Federal Security Service. I want to say that there is nothing written in the trilateral statement of November 9 to that effect. It is a clear text, public, and can be opened and read. On the contrary, it states that Armenia ensures and guarantees the security of the communication,” Pashinyan said.

He also added that point 9 of the November 9 statement is about opening all regional communications: “Comments taken out of context not only provide no benefit but are also harmful, and the Armenian government has publicly and officially presented the Peace Interchange project, and if anyone is against that project, they should explain why they are against it.”

It is worth noting that in point 9 of the November 9 agreement, it is specifically stated: “All economic and transport links in the region are unblocked. The Republic of Armenia ensures transport communication between the western regions of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, organizing unobstructed movement in both directions for citizens, vehicles, and goods. The control of transport traffic is carried out by the bodies of the Border Service of the Federal Security Service of Russia.”