Unblocking of transport links not related to Armenian-Azerbaijani peace agreement- Deputy Prime Minister
SOCHI, June 9. /ARKA/. The unblocking of transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not linked to the conclusion of the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace agreement, Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan said today to Arka news agency on the sidelines of the Eurasian Congress 2023 in Russian Sochi.
He said the November 9, 2020 statement (made by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russian to end the war in the Nagorno-Karabakh) shows that these are separate clauses.
Grigoryan also commented on Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk's statement that Armenia will decide whether it will need help from Russia's Federal Security Service to exercise border and customs control (on Armenian-Azerbaijani border).
"There is a clear position that customs and border control will be carried out in accordance with our legislation and by our authorized bodies. I can't say anything else, the discussions are not over yet," Grigoryan said. He only added that this issue will be discussed between Armenia and Russia.
The Deputy Prime Minister also said that the scope of the issues relating to unblocking of transport links was narrowed to the discussions on resumption of Yeraskh-Horadiz railroad.
Grigoryan also said that it does not matter which country will be the mediator in the negotiations, what is important is the content, i.e. unblocking the communications and their control under the jurisdiction of Armenia.
"Everyone is interested in unblocking communications. A new meeting of the deputy prime ministers (of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan) is not planned yet," Grigoryan said, not ruling out such a possibility.
According to the estimates of the Armenian Ministry of Economy, the construction of Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz railroad may cost $1.2 billion. The construction of the 43-km long railway section through Armenian Meghri may require about $200 million.
If this plan succeeds, Armenia will get access to Iran and Russia through this railroad, and Azerbaijan will get a railway connection with Nakhichevan through Armenia.
Yeraskh is a settlement in Armenia's Ararat region bordering Nakhichevan; Meghri is a town in Syunik (south of Armenia, bordering Iran and Azerbaijan). Sadarak, Julfa, Ordubad and Horadiz are towns in Azerbaijan.
On January 17, 22 the government of Nikol Pashinyan appointed a ten-member working group to handle the reconstruction of the railway tracks connecting Yeraskh (Ararat province of Armenia) and the northwestern tip of Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave. The 10-member working group was led by Artashes Tumanyan, a former ambassador to Iran. Tumanyan was to report on the progress of the work to the Prime Minister every three months.-0--
