Washington document of benefit to all except for Armenia - Robert  Kocharyan

ArmInfo.As a result of the documents signed in Washington on August 8, all parties except Armenia itself received advantages. This was stated by the second  President of the Republic of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, at a press  conference on October 7.

It should be noted that on August 8, Armenia and Azerbaijan initialed  a draft peace treaty in Washington, D.C., with US mediation.  Following this, Yerevan and Baku submitted a joint statement  abolishing the OSCE Minsk Group, mandated to resolve the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Independent Armenian experts criticized  this document, calling it an act of capitulation and evidence of  further concessions by the Armenian authorities, including on the  issue of providing a corridor through southern Armenia.

Without going into detail about these documents, about which much has  already been said, the second President of the Republic of Armenia  indicated that the United States would gain control over the future  corridor, which would pass through Armenia. Robert Kocharyan believes  that Washington will thereby gain control of Armenia's borders with  Iran. Another aspect of these documents is directly related to US  President Donald Trump's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In turn, Azerbaijan received the right to construct a corridor  through Armenian territory, dismantle the OSCE Minsk Group, and  suspend Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act.

"As for Armenia, I tried to find some specifics in these documents,  but in my opinion, the result was zero, other than the emergence of  new problems," the second president of Armenia noted, pointing to  what Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received from the aforementioned  documents. "He received a single photograph signed by President Trump  and a null and void document that will allow him to deceive the  Armenian people once again," Robert Kocharyan emphasized.

He added that Nikol Pashinyan acted as a backdrop in the White House,  against a backdrop of a table, chairs, and paintings hanging on the  walls.

Touching upon the initialed draft peace treaty between Armenia and  Azerbaijan, the second President of Armenia pointed out that the  document is largely technical in nature. "I personally don't  understand what the initialing of the treaty means, especially in the  presence of heads of state," the second President of Armenia said.

He also raised the issue of signing the so-called "Trump Route" in  the United States, which the Armenian authorities are trying hard to  link with the "Crossroads of the World" project. Meanwhile, according  to Kocharyan, the transit potential of each state consists of three  components: the country's geographic location, its terrain, and the  state of its transportation networks. Moreover, the first two  components are mandatory conditions. If they are present, the third  component is simply a matter of investment.

Robert Kocharyan presented a map of Armenia, skeptically assessing  the country's transit potential.  Specifically, Turkey and Georgia  have every opportunity to bypass Armenia and conduct mutual  transportation, the same can be said for Turkey and Russia. The  Georgia-Azerbaijan route is the main corridor between the Caspian and  Black Seas. Azerbaijan and Iran also have ample opportunity to  develop transportation routes. All these countries conduct mutual  trade without entering Armenia. Therefore, Armenia is of no transit  interest to the bordering states. The only exception is the  connection between Turkey and Azerbaijan, for which the corridor is  truly significant, and it is indeed of great importance to Ankara and  Baku. This significance is consistent with the Turan project.

The second president of the Republic of Armenia reiterated the  Armenian side's intention to transfer a portion of the country's  territory for the management of this corridor for an extended period.  Moreover, the transferred territory is of geopolitical significance  and has transit potential.