ArmInfo. On September 15, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during the government hour in parliament, tried to explain the reason for the stop of Iranian trucks, not far from the Armenian village of Vorotan, on the Goris-Kapan highway.
According to the Prime Minister, the events taking place along the length of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border are "multi-layered and have many subtexts, and it is very important to correctly perceive and evaluate these subtexts." As Pashinyan noted, in December 2020, Armenia carried out work to bring the positions of the RA Armed Forces in line with the borders that the republic inherited from the Soviet Union. "This process was carried out in order to avoid a new military escalation," he said.
Pashinyan once again referred to the 2010 law "On the administrative-territorial division of the RA", which, as he pointed out, "clearly states that, in particular, the administrative borders of the villages of Shurnukh and Vorotan correspond to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border." "In this case, this reality and the fact that the administrative border between Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan later became the state border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan of the Soviet Union period was taken as a basis. Today, within the framework of this logic, the Goris-Kapan road in this section in two places goes beyond the administrative border of Soviet Armenia and the Republic of Armenia. It is in connection with this circumstance that famous plaques ("Welcome to Azerbaijan" - ed. note) and strong points (Armed Forces of Azerbaijan - ed. note) appeared in those places, " head of the Armenian government said.
He recalled his message of December 19, 2020, during which he spoke about the problems at the Goris-Kapan section and that a political decision had been made in this regard, then the RA Ministry of Defense issued a corresponding statement. Let us remind that the Ministry of Defense noted that "the security of the 21 km section of the Goris-Kapan highway, which falls on the disputed territory, will be ensured by Russian border guards." As the Prime Minister of Armenia pointed out, at one time - in December last year, an agreement was reached that this road should be freely used for the transit of Armenian vehicles and cargo. "I suppose that since within the framework of this agreement, a circumstance regarding foreign goods was not recorded, in this situation Azerbaijan applies this method, possibly in response to those statements by the Armenian side that in the trilateral statements of November 9 and January 11 there is no mention of providing a corridor through the territory of Armenia. The Republic of Armenia, realizing that regional communications should be open, nevertheless fixes that foreign goods, when crossing the territory of the Republic of Armenia, including from the western regions of Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan, will have to cross customs, passport and other points, as required by the legal framework of the CIS, providing transport communications of the commonwealth, "he said.
Nikol Pashinyan also referred to his statement during a government meeting on August 27 (Pashinyan, speaking about the blocked sections of the Goris-Kapan road, used the Azerbaijani toponyms Eyvazli and Chaizami - ed. note). "This was done for the simple reason that it was clear to the citizens of Armenia that the points in question are not located on the territory of the Republic of Armenia or the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia, but outside this territory, which the Republic of Armenia de jure recognized in the law, which I mentioned" On Administrative - territorial division of the Republic of Armenia "2010", - he explained.
To recall, on September 12, the National Security Service of Armenia reported that "from 12:00 on September 12, the Azerbaijani police began stop trucks with Iranian numbers on the section Eyvazli (near the Armenian village Vorotan) of the route Goris-Kapan. "In connection with the situation the day before, the" Hayastan "(" Armenia "- ed. note) parliamentary faction demanded to find a format for organizing a discussion of the situation. "It is toothless and about nothing," moreover, "the report of the RA NSS fully uses Azerbaijani terminology." trucks, and drivers, in order to be allowed further travel to Yerevan, are forced to pay a kind of customs duty. " On September 13, the State Customs Committee (SCC) of Azerbaijan announced that Baku had established control on the section of the Goris-Kapan road passing through the Syunik region of Armenia "in accordance with the Azerbaijani tax code." "According to the code, vehicles are subject to road tax, as well as a state duty for obtaining a permit regulating international road transport in the territory of Azerbaijan," the ministry said in a statement.