Armenia not going to return its occupied territories by military means - Pashinyan
YEREVAN, 12 October. /ARKA/. Armenia is creating and will continue to create all guarantees to ensure that none of its neighbours have any suspicion that it has any aggressive intentions, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.
‘We recognise the territorial integrity of all our neighbours and are ready to make de jure commitments in this regard. Moreover, we declared that we are not going to return our own territories (occupied by Azerbaijan) by military means, as the document we have signed with Azerbaijan in the border delimitation process gives all possibilities for this process to take place on legal, legitimate grounds,’ he said speaking at the conference “Crossroads of Peace: Uniting Security and Democracy” in Yerevan.
According to the Prime Minister, Azerbaijan is concerned that the Crossroads of Peace project can bring tens of billions of dollars in benefits to Armenia.
In this context, he believes that Azerbaijan's concerns are twofold. On the one hand, he said, Azerbaijan seriously thinks that if Armenia has aggressive plans against it in a strategic perspective, these funds can be used against it, and on the other hand - if Azerbaijan has aggressive intentions against Armenia, these tens of billions can be used to increase Armenia's defence capabilities, which will create problems with the implementation of its aggressive plans.
Regarding the latter, Pashinyan reiterated that Armenia has repeatedly declared the absence of any aggressive intentions towards Azerbaijan and the countries of the region as a whole.
At the same time, he added that Azerbaijan wants the roads on Armenia's territory to open for it, but does not want to lift its blockade of Armenia.
‘This is an illogical approach that cannot be acceptable to Armenia,’ Pashinyan emphasised.
About the Crossroads of Peace project
The Armenian regional communications project Crossroads of Peace was presented by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the November 2023 Silk Road Forum in Tbilisi.
The key idea of the project is the resumption and development of transport communications between Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran through the use of roads, railways, cables, pipelines and power lines.
This would allow for a short and efficient route between the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, as well as a route from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea. According to Armenia's position, all infrastructures should operate under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries through whose territories they pass; each country on its territory shall implement border and customs control, ensure the safety of movement of goods, vehicles and people along them. -0-
