Yerevan offers Baku to resume railroad freight transportation - Pashinyan

YEREVAN, March 5./ARKA/. In an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan said considering the challenges associated with the transit route from Azerbaijan to its exclave Nakhichevan, the “Crossroads of Peace” project, developed by his government, is largely about unblocking all transport routes and economic ties in the region.

He said the reopening of the railway between Armenia and Azerbaijan is a very important topic in this context.

'And, of course, in this context, the restoration of the railway connection from Azerbaijan to Azerbaijan, that is, or from Western Azerbaijan through the territory of the Republic of Armenia to Nakhichevan and from the Republic of Armenia to Azerbaijan, or rather, through the territory of Nakhichevan to Armenia, are also important,' Pashinyan said.

'Of course, we believe that this issue should be solved with respect for the territorial integrity, jurisdiction and sovereignty of the countries. And the solution that we have proposed, we believe, fully satisfies this condition,' he said..

He said if these communication routes are opened, 'we will have an Armenia-Iran railway, which will significantly deepen our economic relations. And at the same time, Azerbaijan will have the opportunity to have full-fledged railway freight transportation through the territory of the Republic of Armenia to Turkey and vice versa, which means that both Armenia and Azerbaijan will be fully integrated into the international railway network. But at the same time, I want to say again, this will also significantly deepen trade and economic relations between Iran and Armenia.'-0-