Yerevan is ready to launch regional communications even tomorrow, but  "corridor" logic is unacceptable - Pashinyan

ArmInfo. On September 13, during government hour in parliament, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol  Pashinyan commented on the statement of Turkish Transport Minister  Abdulkadir Uraloglu about the "imminent opening of the Zangezur corridor."

Earlier today, Abdulkadir Uraloglu said that in the coming months the  Turkish side will begin work on opening the Zangezur corridor. "We  overcome a certain path regarding the Zangezur corridor issue, and I  believe that Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia will soon implement it,"  the minister emphasized.

"Are we against the opening of the Yeraskh - Sadarak - Julfa -  Ordubad - Meghri - Goradiz railway? On the contrary, we are  supporters of this [initiative]. This is a very important project for  Armenia. Are we really against the opening of transport  communications in the region? No, we stand for and support the  establishment of communication between Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well  as Nakhichevan and the western regions of Azerbaijan, through the  territory of Armenia. Are we against regional communications, gas and  oil pipelines, and electrical networks passing through Armenia? On  the contrary, we are interested in these projects, but all should  take place Armenia's sovereignty and jurisdiction, just like within  other countries' sovereignty and jurisdiction," Pashinyan said in  parliament on Wednesday.

As the Prime Minister pointed out, Armenia is sincerely interested in  the implementation of all these projects, as has been repeatedly  stated. <However, any statements that question the jurisdiction and  sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia are unacceptable to us. This  is not just unacceptable - it is a red line," he said.

Pashinyan reminded that the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement  envisages only one corridor, with certain limited sovereignty, which  is the Lachin Corridor. The document does not envisage any corridor  through Armenia's territory.

At the same time, as he mentioned, it is important not to confuse the  international community. According to the prime minister, in many  cases in European countries, a "corridor" is understood as a  transport route.  However, for Armenia this word has a certain  sensitivity, since the Lachin corridor is mentioned in the trilateral  statement. Certain circles in Azerbaijan, understanding the  sensitivity of this term in the context of a trilateral statement,  use it in the incorrect  context and to form territorial claims  against Armenia. In this sense, the "corridor" logic is unacceptable  and is a red line for Yerevan, Pashinyan emphasized.  The head of the  RA Cabinet of Ministers confirmed Yerevan's readiness to launch  regional communications even tomorrow, recalling that earlier the  government introduced a project to open three checkpoints in border  areas: one on the border with Nakhichevan, two on the eastern  direction.