Pashinyan Requests Rethinking of Railway Restoration to Nakhchivan and Turkey Border

In a recent government briefing, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the participation of Russia in the TRIPP initiative, a bilateral project between Armenia and the United States. He emphasized that the involvement of third countries can only be discussed within a bilateral framework, stating, "This is clearly formulated, and I would not consider it correct to comment outside of this framework." This was in response to inquiries about Russia's recent interest in joining TRIPP, citing solutions developed in a trilateral format from 2021-2023 and offering expert consultation.

When asked how relevant these proposals are for Armenia, Pashinyan revealed, "I have requested our Russian partners to urgently engage in the complete restoration of the railway from Yeraskh to Azerbaijan, towards the Nakhchivan border, and the section of Akhuryan up to the Turkish border. I believe that I will raise the same issue shortly concerning the Ijevan-Ghazakh section, as I think there is also a need for its rapid restoration. I hope our Russian partners will turn this request into reality as quickly as possible."

Regarding reports that the "South Caucasian Railway" has expressed willingness to transfer only the Meghri segment to Armenia, Pashinyan clarified, "There is a misunderstanding regarding the Meghri segment of the railway because this part is not under Russian control to be handed over to Armenia. It is our sovereign territory, and we have not delegated the management of this sovereign territory to anyone. There is no railway there that could be managed by anyone else. Thus, there is no such topic."