Armenia's Tavush region may find itself in the same vulnerable position as Syunik - opposition deputy
YEREVAN, March 19. /ARKA/. Armenia's Tavush region may find itself in the same vulnerable position as Syunik region, Tigran Abrahamyan, an MP from the opposition Pativ Unem (I Have Honor) alliance, said today.
"After the 44-day war (in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020), handing over the Goris-Kapan road section to Azerbaijan, the Armenian authorities said they would build a new modern road. What do we have now on this section in Syunik? Settlements, some of which have been handed over, handed over communications, new roads that do not fully solve strategic problems, settlements that are in a semi-isolated position," he said at a press briefing in the parliament.
According to Abrahamyan, as in the case of Syunik, where the vulnerability has increased, the vulnerability of Tavush region will also increase. He drew attention to the fact that both these regions are of key importance for the country in the sense that they connect it with Iran and Georgia respectively.
The MP emphasized that the current authorities' policy towards the four Tavush villages (which the opposition believes Prime Minister Pashinyan is going to surrender to Azerbaijan) will largely depend on how public opinion manifests itself, as well as on the reaction on the ground.
"In a period when the position of the authorities is weakening and they see the problem of their position and power in general, they begin to be more cautious in their actions," he said.
On Azerbaijan's territorial claims to Armenia
Azerbaijan refuses to recognize that it has occupied parts of 31 settlements in Armenia and at the same time demands the transfer of 4 villages in Tavush - Baganis Ayrum, Nerkin Voskepar (Ashagi-Askipara), Kirants (Kheirimli) and Berkaber (Kizil Khajili). The interstate highway to Georgia passes through the territory of these villages.
On March 12, Pashinyan stated that "there has never been and cannot be any talk about transferring the villages of the Tavush region to Azerbaijan." However, on March 18, he met with residents of these villages in Tavush and tried to persuade them to surrender the territories, saying that "otherwise there will be war." -0-
