Overchuk: In case of unblocking of communications, the roads remain  under the jurisdiction of the countries through which they pass

ArmInfo. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexei Overchuk, the press service of the Head of  Government  reports.

According to the source, the Prime Minister welcomed Mr. Overchuk's  visit to Armenia, noting that it is a good opportunity to discuss the  current agenda. "I would like to note that I highly appreciate the  works of the trilateral working commission chaired by the Deputy  Prime Ministers of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Armenia  and the Republic of Azerbaijan. I hope that we will finally be able  to reach concrete solutions.

I would like to say the following in this regard. Armenia is  committed to the statements of November 9 and January 11, which refer  to the unblocking of all transport and economic ties in the region.  But I would like to emphasize that the statements made by Azerbaijan  regarding the corridors have a negative impact on the efficiency of  our work and atmosphere, especially considering that in our  trilateral statements there are no remarks about corridors.

My impression is that Azerbaijan is trying to impose its perceptions  on the commission, which, of course, is unacceptable for us. I would  like to reaffirm that Armenia is interested in opening and unblocking  regional transport and economic infrastructure. I have repeatedly  stated publicly that we are ready to go to concrete solutions, the  essence of which should be the following. Armenia should get road and  railway communication routes through Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan should  receive railway and road communication routes through Armenia,  including one connecting Azerbaijan to the Nakhichevan Autonomous  Republic.  Our documents are about the unblocking of economic and  transport infrastructures, our position is the following. What do we  offer? The railways that existed during the Soviet era must be  restored; the highways that existed during the Soviet era, including  those connecting the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic with Azerbaijan,  must also be restored.

We are ready for such solutions. We have concrete proposals, it  should be emphasized that according to the January 11 statement,  about which we have talked many times, we should also negotiate on  customs control, phytosanitary control, border control and other  possible types of control. This is what is stated in our statements  of November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021. I want to confirm once  again that Armenia is interested, ready, and we hope that in the near  future we will be able to reach concrete solutions to these issues.  We are constructive," Prime Minister Pashinyan said.

Alexei Overchuk thanked the Prime Minister for the meeting and for  highly appreciating the activities of the working group comprised of  the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Russian  Federation.

"We are really working within the mandate that you, together with the  leaders of the other countries, granted us in the framework of the  statements of November 9-10, 2020 and January 11, 2021. I would like  to note that we are in constant touch with our partners and deputy  prime ministers. We have held 8 meetings, 4 of which were in-person,  the other four were held remotely.

At the same time, we talk on the phone almost every day, discussing  various options to find more optimal, more acceptable solutions for  all parties. You know that road construction experts also worked, who  examined the roads. Today we have a very good understanding of what  those roads really look like. Based on these data, after the 8th  session of the joint working group held on October 22, it seems to us  that we will reach concrete solutions. They are based primarily on  that the roads remain under the jurisdiction of the countries through  which they pass.

You also mentioned and it is enshrined in the statements that all  kinds of controls should be carried out. We agreed that such control  should be exercised based on the parity principle, and we also  discussed it, including how and from where to start unblocking  automotive infrastructure. We want to discuss it with you today and  think about how to move forward," Alexei Overchuk said.