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Pashinyan: Armenian citizens and goods to use alternative road to travel from Goris to Kapan

11.11.2021, 13:05
Armenian citizens and goods going from the town of Goris to Kapan, the capital of the southern Armenian province of Syunik, will use an alternative road which bypasses a section of the highway that connects north of Armenia with its south as well as with Iran and which is now controlled by Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told a Cabinet meeting today.
Pashinyan: Armenian citizens and goods to use alternative road to travel from Goris to Kapan

YEREVAN, November 11, /ARKA/. Armenian citizens and goods going from the town of Goris to Kapan, the capital of the southern Armenian province of Syunik, will use an alternative road which bypasses a section of the highway that connects north of Armenia with its south as well as with Iran and which is now controlled by Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told a Cabinet meeting today.

He said the alternative road that has undergone a major repair runs from Kapan to Goris through the villages of Aghavni, Tatev, Halidzor and Shinuayr.

Pashinyan recalled that in August 2021, Azerbaijan set up a customs checkpoint on the 21-km long section of the highway, which passes through its territory and has been collecting customs duties from Iranian trucks travelling to Armenia.

“Yesterday, we received an unofficial notification from Azerbaijan that starting November 11 overnight they will carry out customs and passport control also in relation to citizens and goods of the Republic of Armenia,’ Pashinyan said.

"Last Thursday, I personally went to Kapan using the alternative road. I can say that we have a really high-quality road that needs some improvement for more convenient passage of trucks with a trailer," he said.

"After yesterday's decision, Iranian trucks can use the Tatev-Aghvani road without having to pay additional customs duties," he said.

The prime minister added that the Republic of Armenia will also, if necessary, establish its own customs and passport control points on the Goris-Kapan road section.

According to the prime minister, the duration of the trip along the new route from Yerevan to Kapan and in the opposite direction has not increased. Quite the contrary, it even has slightly decreased because of the high quality of the road.

"Besides, there is road construction and repair work of an unprecedented scale on the Yeraskh-Goris section of the highway and the quality of roads is changing noticeably. I would like to emphasize that large-scale construction work is underway also on other alternative roads connecting Tatev with Ltsen and Shurnukh with Vorotan," he said.

Pashinyan specified that the Azerbaijani checkpoint is not located on the territory of Armenia. ‘Now, a question may arise: was not it possible to hold negotiations with Azerbaijan and convince it against setting up checkpoints with respect to the citizens and goods of Armenia. It was possible, but the price would be providing Azerbaijan with a "corridor" to its exclave Nakhichevan through Armenia, which is unacceptable to us," he said. -0-