David Khudatyan on Unblocking and Preserving Territorial Integrity

If the road to Baku is safe, then let the representatives of the ruling party be the first to pass through it in response to reporters' observations, said the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, David Khudatyan. "Currently, those roads are not open, and therefore, passing through them is not accessible for members of the ruling party as well as others, but we are moving at a fast and accelerated pace towards making them accessible to all citizens of Armenia," emphasized the minister.

He also added that once specific detailed working processes begin, and it is likely that working groups will be created, all details will be adequately communicated to the public after they carry out their work. There will be no long wait or necessity for the formation of working groups.

Responding to a reporter's question about whether it is possible that Armenian border and customs workers will not carry out control, Khudatyan emphasized: "Jurisdiction means that the road will be under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Armenia concerning all related technical and substantive matters. I cannot provide information on the method of customs inspection, that is a narrowly technical issue. Once the working groups are formed, they will certainly discuss the technical details, and when they have something to communicate to the public, they will be published in the same manner as the text of the Peace Agreement was published."

The most important political issue articulated in the document is the preservation of territorial integrity, sovereignty, jurisdiction, and the principle of reciprocity. This was something that, unfortunately, our opposition questioned until the document was published; it also related to the Peace Agreement. I won’t hesitate to say that the kind of sobbing, tragic questions formulated with 'what if' statements, similar to those raised regarding the text of the Peace Agreement, which were completely negated after the publication of the text, is now repeating itself. But we will not allow it to happen again. The principles have been clarified; my stated four principles have been announced by the Prime Minister of Armenia, the President of the United States, and the President of Azerbaijan.

If anyone allows themselves to call the unblocking with four principles a corridor, that is manipulation.