Azerbaijan has not responded to Armenia's proposal to unblock communications - Pashinyan
YEREVAN, April 16. /ARKA/. Armenia presented its position on unblocking regional communications within the framework of the "Crossroads of Peace" project a long time ago and in written form, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told journalists on Wednesday.
"The goal, among other things, was to prevent misinterpretations. We've already started working on this initiative and will continue to do so. We haven't received a written response to our written proposal from Azerbaijan. There have been various comments, but we need to understand the process correctly. Every project has its nuances during implementation, and we must work through them. In the 'Crossroads of Peace' project, we made it clear that we're ready to simplify procedures while upholding four core principles," said Pashinyan.
He reminded that these four principles are territorial integrity, sovereignty, legitimacy, and reciprocity.
"We are proposing to open a railway connection, specifically the Horadiz–Yeraskh route, where transportation would occur from Armenia to Armenia via Azerbaijani territory, and vice versa. We are ready to move forward with these decisions today. We’re also asking ourselves how the public will react to the proposals we are making. We are confident that our population will consider this compromise acceptable," Pashinyan said.
According to him, Azerbaijan has essentially chosen to use the route through Iran, indicating that such a route is acceptable to them.
"We are saying that we are ready to offer the same conditions to demonstrate that such arrangements can also be acceptable to Azerbaijan. The trilateral agreement of November 9, 2020, cannot be interpreted otherwise," Pashinyan emphasized.
He pointed out that the agreement contains nothing that threatens Armenia’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, or legitimacy, and it includes no provisions for the presence of third-party forces on Armenia’s territory. The principle of reciprocity is also reflected in it.
"The Russian side's role may pertain to monitoring, which could be conducted from Moscow or via satellite communication," added Pashinyan.
About the "Crossroads of Peace" project
The Armenian regional communications initiative "Crossroads of Peace" was introduced by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in November 2023 at the Silk Road Forum in Tbilisi. The project's core idea is to establish (or restore) and develop transport links among Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Iran by utilizing roads, railways, fiber-optic cables, pipelines, and power lines.
The project aims to create a short and efficient route from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, as well as a corridor from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea. Armenia’s position is that all infrastructure should operate under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries through which they pass. Each country would conduct border and customs control on its own territory and ensure the safe movement of goods, vehicles, and people.
