Armenia agrees with Turkey on assessment of requirements for crossing the border on Gyumri-Kars railway - Mirzoyan
YEREVAN, December 20. /ARKA/. Driven by the firm belief that regional dialogue is key to establishing mutually beneficial collaboration, the Government of Armenia has introduced the "Crossroads of Peace" initiative, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said in a speech at the 49th Meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation organization’s Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. (BSEC CMFA) Thursday.
He said guided by the vision of inclusiveness and equitable use of regional infrastructure and building a prosperous future for all interested parties, this project aims at the development of communications between the countries of the region with full respect for the state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and principles of equality and reciprocity.
He said also that Armenia and Turkey have already agreed to jointly assess the technical requirements for the border crossing by the Gyumri-Kars railway. At the same time Armenia has proposed to Azerbaijan modalities of relaunching the rail infrastructure between the two countries, simplifying border crossing and customs procedures and providing some additional insurance mechanisms.
‘By placing a significant emphasis on building mutual trust and possible enhanced connectivity as the foundation for peace, the "Crossroads of Peace" Project has the potential to foster regional cooperation on multiple fronts,’ Mirzoyan said as Chair of BSEC CMFA.
According to him it could efficiently link the Gulf, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, thus significantly contributing to the integration of the region into global transport chains and bringing enormous benefits to all countries of our region.
He added that the Project has already received positive reactions from numerous international partners, and that Armenia will continue efforts to consolidate further support towards its implementation.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with the Armenpress news agency on Thursday that a solution has been found to the issue of resuming railway communication with Azerbaijan, which will fully satisfy both.
In November this year, representatives of a number of departments of Armenia and Turkey met on the Armenian-Turkish border. According to Ruben Rubinyan, Vice Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia and special envoy for negotiations with Turkey, technical needs were assessed, which will allow putting into operation the border crossing point of Akhurik/Akiyaka railway.
Rubinyan repeatedly said that success depends on Ankara's political will. Armenia expects not only the fulfilment of the agreements reached earlier, but also a full-fledged settlement of relations without any preconditions.
Nevertheless, Turkey does not hide that Armenian-Turkish reconciliation directly depends on the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement. In early December, Fuat Oktay, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the parliament of this country, stated this, calling Baku's demand to change the Armenian Constitution an important condition for the establishment of peace and the opening of the so-called ‘Zangezur corridor’.
