Armenia discusses unblocking of infrastructure only in the context of its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction – Nazeli Baghdasaryan
YEREVAN, July 14. /ARKA/. Armenia is looking at reopening of regional infrastructure only in terms of its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction, and can not really talk about any other logic, Nazeli Baghdasaeryan, the press secretary of Prime Minister Pashinyan, said in response to a request from the Armenpress news agency to comment on statements made by the US ambassador to Turkey, who, as noted in the agency's request, “spoke about the possibility of the US leasing a section of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, through which, according to the ambassador, the ‘Zangezur corridor’ could be implemented.”
US Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack announced the United States' intention to lease a 32-kilometer road between Armenia and Azerbaijan for 100 years.
Baghdasaryan noted that the name mentioned in the request sent to her is unacceptable to Armenia.
“As for land leases, according to Armenian legislation, such an institution exists only for agricultural land on which agricultural activities are carried out. Therefore, the option mentioned by the US ambassador is not possible,” she stressed.
In response to a question about whether the US ambassador might have meant outsourcing the management of the road, the prime minister's press secretary said that Armenia had not discussed and was not discussing the transfer of control of its sovereign territory to a third party.
“No part of the territory of the Republic of Armenia can be outside its territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction,” she concluded.
Azerbaijan and Turkey are promoting the so-called “Zangezur corridor,” which would Nakhchivan with the main part of Azerbaijan, crossing the territory of Armenia in the Syunik region (bordering Iran).
There are plans to build a motorway and a railway there. Rumors about the possible extraterritorial status of this “corridor” are regularly circulated in the media. However, the Armenian authorities have repeatedly rejected the possibility of negotiations within the framework of the “corridor logic” and insist on respecting the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the country through which the communications will pass.-0-
