All Roads from Armenia are Open for Azerbaijan, Says Pashinyan

The topic most often exploited or escalated by Azerbaijan is the issue of regional communications. Azerbaijan claims that Armenia is not fulfilling its obligations, referring to the obvious fact that communication routes between Armenia and Azerbaijan are closed. It is important to emphasize that Armenia has no unilateral obligations. Both sides are obliged to open all transport and economic communications for each other.

Currently, there is no transport or economic communication open from Azerbaijan to Armenia or those passing through Armenia: no road, no railway, no pipeline, no electric transmission line, no cable. All roads from Armenia are open for Azerbaijan.

As reported by Armenpress, back in 2022, the government introduced a draft decision to open three border points at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, allowing Azerbaijani trucks and passenger vehicles to enter the territory of Armenia and travel to Nakhchivan and Turkey. These decisions have not been made only due to Azerbaijan's rejectionist stance, but the Armenian government could make such decisions within a week or two.

Of course, there are no infrastructure elements leading into Nakhchivan that need to be constructed, but this can also be done quite rapidly. However, at this very moment, in terms of preparing physical infrastructure, for example, trucks can enter the territory of the Republic of Armenia via the Lachin-Kornidzor section through the Kornidzor checkpoint, travel along our roads to the Armenia-Turkey border, and enter Turkey through the Margara checkpoint. The same goes in the opposite direction. The necessary physical infrastructure for such transit freight transportation is already in place; all it requires is a de jure decision to be made. We are ready to make such a decision if there is interest from Azerbaijan and Turkey.

We will ensure the security of freight transportation; however, if there is a psychological complexity for Azerbaijani drivers and trucks, Turkish trucks, which have always traveled and continue to travel actively on Armenian roads, can organize that freight transportation. Freight transportation can also be organized by trucks from other countries.

But I want to officially state once again that Armenia has never taken, whether in writing or orally, any obligation, has not agreed, nor hinted that ensuring security in its territory, including for international or Azerbaijani passenger or freight transportation, should or can be delegated to another country. Such a thing has not happened, it simply does not exist.

On the contrary, Armenia has committed to ensure the safety of passage, which we are ready to do. Armenia has never taken, whether in writing or orally, any obligation, has not agreed, not even implied that it could agree to any limitation of its sovereignty, jurisdiction, or territorial integrity, including concerning communications from western Azerbaijan through the territory of the Republic of Armenia to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

The communication from western Azerbaijan through the territory of the Republic of Armenia to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is a subtopic within the broader theme of regional communication routes, and Armenia has never impeded this. Moreover, in this matter, we have been maximally creative and flexible and continue to be. In 2022, addressing Azerbaijan's concerns, we offered to delegate the front-line functions of passport and customs control over citizens and cargo during border crossing to an international specialized organization on the principle of reciprocity. Azerbaijan did not agree.

Now, considering Azerbaijan's assertion that, due to the prolonged conflict, Azerbaijani citizens will avoid passing through Armenian border and customs control, we have proposed to start opening communication initially with railway freight transport through Zangelan-Meghri-Ortubad and in the opposite direction, Yeraskh-Ortubad-Meghri and vice versa. Moreover, we have officially proposed an alternative that does not undermine either party's sovereignty, jurisdiction, and territorial integrity. If Baku's concern is to ensure reliable freight transportation with Nakhchivan and in the opposite direction, then this question is resolved. It remains for Azerbaijan to say yes.

Some time will also be needed for the construction of the Nrnadzor-Karchavan railway in the territory of Armenia. A short section of railway also needs to be built at the Yeraskh-Nakhchivan border, but this is necessary for Armenia-Armenia and Azerbaijan-Turkey railway connections, and this work can also be done swiftly.

By the same principle, we are ready to provide transit for pipelines, electrical transmission lines, and cables from Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan. It is unclear why these proposals are rejected by Azerbaijan. I hope it is not for the false pretext of creating escalation.

Azerbaijan also claims that if Armenia does not provide a road to Nakhchivan, they will ensure the connection between western Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan through the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. God forbid, we are not against this; it is a matter of relations and decisions between the IRI and Azerbaijan. But to clarify, the Republic of Armenia is ready to provide passage from western Azerbaijan to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic under the same legal conditions that Iran is proposing.

In response, Azerbaijan states that the passage should be unhindered. Does that mean that the crossing through Iran is hindered when we say we are ready to provide the same crossing under the same legal conditions? Based on the principle of reciprocity, we are ready to implement certain simplifications of crossing procedures and introduce automated mechanisms. So why does Azerbaijan reject these constructive proposals?

My conviction is clear: the opening of all regional economic and transport communications, including from western Azerbaijan through the territory of the Republic of Armenia to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and in the opposite direction, from the territory of the Republic of Armenia to the territory of Azerbaijan (Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic) and vice versa, is fully prepared, and the only requirement for its implementation is the consent of Azerbaijan.