ArmInfo. Russia has not used and does not use the term "Zangezur Corridor". Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova stated at a briefing on November 15.
She noted that regarding the region, Moscow is talking about routes passing from Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan through the Syunik region of Armenia. "We are not advocating the establishment of one particular route, but for the complete unblocking of economic and transport communications in the South Caucasus. We advocate that this happen on transparent, mutually beneficial terms, which should correspond to the interests of Armenia, Azerbaijan and their neighbors. Work in this direction is being carried out within the framework of a tripartite working group co-chaired by the vice-premiers of the three states," the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
She added that there was a strong understanding within the tripartite working group that countries should have sovereignty and jurisdiction over routes passing through their territory. The activities of the tripartite working group are carried out on the basis of an agreement between the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan dated November 9, 2020, January 11, 2021, which clearly states the role of the border service of the Federal Security Service of Russia in monitoring transport communications between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. "All this is not news for Armenia. All the more surprising was the violent reaction of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs to our previous comments on this topic," Zakharova said, adding that Russian border guards have been successfully guarding Armenia's borders with Iran and Turkey for many years.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the process of unblocking transport communications, which the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on in January 2021, has not been completed. "For a number of years, we have come close to adopting a package of mutually acceptable decisions that would enable both Armenia and Azerbaijan to use each other's road infrastructure, which would be a huge step forward towards the overall improvement of Armenian- Azerbaijani relations and stabilization of the situation in the South Caucasus as a whole, but this chance was missed," Zakharova emphasized.
She noted that on June 2, at the 12th meeting of the trilateral working group, significant progress was recorded in the negotiations, in particular, a common understanding regarding the restoration and organization of railway communication between Armenia and Azerbaijan was reached. "But again, something prevented the Armenian leadership from finalizing the agreements on paper. We know very well what prevented it - the "good" advices of Western friends of the current leadership in Armenia," Zakharova said, adding that Recommendations from West are preventing Armenia from completing the work of unblocking communications in Transcaucasus.