Monday, May 31 2021 12:22

ArmInfo. Azerbaijan is forcibly  pushing the construction of a corridor through Armenia, which will  link Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Thus, after the illegal invasion of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on  the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia on May 12, which,  according to expert opinions, aims to accelerate the process of  delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as  well as to begin the construction of a transport corridor that will  allow connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan, certain progress has  been observed in this issue.

This conclusion is prompted by the statement of Azerbaijani President  Ilham Aliyev, made the day before, against the background of a rather  passive reaction of the international community to the invasion of  one UN member state into the territory of another, the capture of the  Armenian military prisoners on their own land and the unwillingness  of the Armenian authorities to go to a military settlement.  Against  this background, Baku says that work is already underway on the  construction of the corridor, which Aliyev calls Zangezur. He stated  that this corridor will provide a new connection between Turkey and  Azerbaijan.

"As you know, at the first stage after the war, Armenia expressed its  protest on this issue. However, recently I have been informed that  the Armenian side is already correctly analyzing the issues related  to the inevitability of this corridor. As you know, discussions are  underway in a trilateral format. This issue is being discussed within  the framework of a working group at the level of deputy prime  ministers of Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia, and there are good results.  We have launched the construction of a railway from Horadiz to the  border with Armenia. I am sure that in the next two years, maybe two  and a half year, this railway will be fully operational.

Most of the Nakhchivan railway is in operation, the missing part will  also be built, all instructions have been given. An important part of  the Zangezur corridor should be built on the territory of Armenia.  Thus, a new corridor will be opened, and this connection between  Turkey and Azerbaijan will become even stronger, "the head of  Azerbaijan said at a meeting with Turkish Transport and  Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismayiloglu, quoted by AzerTAc.

In this context, the statements made by the Prime Minister of  Azerbaijan and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia  at the end of the outgoing week also sound quite interesting.

Thus, for example, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov at a meeting  of the CIS heads of government in Minsk on May 28 said that Baku  supported Moscow's proposal to create a trilateral commission on  delimitation and demarcation of the border with Armenia. "Azerbaijan  has begun the process of defining its border infrastructure and is  ready to resolve the issue of border lines with Armenia in a  constructive way," Asadov's press service quoted as saying. The Prime  Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan noted that the process of  determining the border lines should be based on a serious  international legal basis.

In turn, acting Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mher  Grigoryan noted at the same meeting that what is happening today on  the Armenian-Azerbaijani border carries obvious threats for the  region as a whole, and, in the end, for all of us. The Acting Deputy  Prime Minister also stressed that only the immediate and  unconditional withdrawal of the Azerbaijani armed forces from the  sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia and the return of our  captured military personnel can create conditions for considering  emerging issues within the framework of political and diplomatic  tools.  At the same time, referring to Asadov's statement on the  Russian proposal on delimitation, Grigoryan said in particular: "The  Russian proposal to resolve the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani  border is acceptable to Armenia, and the Armenian side presented its  position to the Russian partners in writing on May 19. At the same  time, the issue on the clarification of the border points on the  Armenian-Azerbaijani border can be discussed only if the Azerbaijani  military units leave the territory of the Republic of Armenia. In  this context, we also stressed the importance of the return of our  captured military personnel.  Armenia also reiterates its proposal on  the proportional withdrawal of troops, their return to places of  permanent deployment, and then to clarify border points. "

It is also worth noting that earlier, acting Prime Minister of  Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, at a meeting with voters, stated that  Yerevan is ready at any time to withdraw troops from the border with  Azerbaijan, provided that similar steps are taken from Baku.

Such a statement by Pashinyan raises many questions, since the  Armenian troops are located on the sovereign territory of the RA, and  it is the Azerbaijani troops that invaded deep into the RA. From such  statements, it can be assumed that Pashinyan is ready to carry out  demarcation at the expense of the republic's territories. That is, to  conduct an inter-positional zone not on a parity basis, as is  customary in international practice, but by withdrawing the Armenian  forces from their positions.