Pashinyan Comments on Claims of External Imposition of the 'Peace Crossroads' Project

During a speech at the conference titled 'Peace Crossroads: Integrating Security and Democracy,' Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan refuted claims that the government's proposed 'Peace Crossroads' initiative is imposed from abroad.

Pashinyan expressed surprise at such interpretations, stating that the project is not in any way dictated by external influences. 'This is a result of a lack of proper assessment of the situation. This project is at the heart of the interests of the Republic of Armenia,' Pashinyan emphasized.

The Prime Minister noted that it is clear that Armenia has a significant interest in the solutions proposed by this initiative. 'Imagine that we are developing our border potential, meaning that we are not utilizing a large part of our transit, import, and export potential infrastructure. Seventy percent of the infrastructural opportunities available to Armenia are not being utilized because there is no realistic opportunity to connect to the global railway network, nor is there a real opportunity to integrate into the global North-South, East-West road networks. These opportunities are either extremely limited or artificially obstructed due to the complete closure of the Armenia-Turkey and Armenia-Azerbaijan borders,' Pashinyan highlighted.