The Territorial Integrity of Armenia Cannot Be Delegated: Prime Minister's Spokesperson

The spokesperson for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, made a post on her Facebook page, noting: "It is noticeable that there is some confusion in the Armenian media regarding the government's positions on the unblocking of transport routes in the region, and media outlets see contradictions in the statements of Armenian officials.

This is somewhat understandable, because the topic has many nuances that can become more complicated when associated with certain terms—such as lease, leasing, development rights, and delegation.

Each of these terms can have different meanings depending on what exactly it relates to. To ease the issue for representatives of mass media, I would like to emphasize once again that the Republic of Armenia has never discussed, is not discussing, and will not discuss transport routes that pass through its territory in ways that are incompatible with the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and authority of the Republic of Armenia.

On the contrary, within the framework of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and authority, the Republic of Armenia not only discusses various formulations for the operation of transport routes in the region but is also interested in reaching an agreement on any of these formulations.

Representatives of the Republic of Armenia who say that Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss this issue are clearly talking about formulations that are incompatible with the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and authority of the Republic of Armenia.

Those who speak about discussions are referring to formulations, development rights, etc., that fall within the framework of the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and authority of the Republic of Armenia, which Prime Minister Pashinyan discussed during the press conference on July 16.

Of course, the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and authority of the Republic of Armenia cannot be delegated. However, the business management of railways, pipelines, and power lines can be delegated. By the way, the maintenance and management of roads in Armenia is today and has always been delegated to private companies. It is another matter who performs this management and in what quality. But this is not related to the topic under discussion," wrote Nazeli Baghdasaryan.