According to political scientist Benyamin Poghosyan, it is not mentioned in any statement- if, of course, there is no signed but unpublished document currently- that the railway and automobile routes connecting Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan must pass through the Syunik Province. Therefore, Armenia can bring this circumstance to the attention of all foreign players. In an interview with Aravot Daily, political scientist Benyamin Poghosyan noted, “Azerbaijan’s infiltration in Armenian territory on May 12-13 had one purpose: to force Armenia to rush the process of delimitation and demarcation.”
The political scientist does not consider it a coincidence that a draft on the establishment of a tripartite commission on demarcation and demarcation was published immediately afterwards. According to Benyamin Poghosyan, Azerbaijan had a deeper problem. In fact, it has put Armenia in a dilemma. Regarding this, he clarified, “Azerbaijan has presented us with two options. Either accept the maps of Soviet times as a checkpoint for demarcation and demarcation and forget about Artsakh, and we get the right to talk about the enclaves, or if you refuse to accept the Soviet maps as a checkpoint, it means that there is no checkpoint. And if not, then the negotiations must start from scratch. And if there is no settlement point, how do you claim that we are in the territory of the Republic of Armenia now? And it was thought out. When we applied to the CSTO and offered to hold consultations, Stanislav Zas stated that these are border incidents and their interference is not part of the CSTO functions.”
Aravot Daily inquired whether it is possible that through the escalation of tension, Azerbaijan is trying to put pressure on the Armenian authorities to extort new concessions, for example, to solve the so-called “Zangezur Corridor” issue. Benyamin Poghosyan said, “One thing is clear: there are agreements, at least verbally, on unblocking the roads. The available public information gives grounds to claim that at least in November-January, Armenia agreed that the roads from Azerbaijan to the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic will pass through the Syunik province. Even the term is not important here; many people focus on the corridor saying that it is unacceptable, but even if Aliyev announces that they are building an Azerbaijan-Nakhichevan railway and road through the Syunik province, it is still dangerous for us. This means that in 10-15 years, we will have a significant increase of Azerbaijani-Turkish influence in the Syunik province with dangerous consequences for Armenia.”
According to the political scientist, based on the verbal agreements reached in January, Aliyev has now made a clear demand to the Armenian authorities: the population has elected you, therefore it is time to fulfill the agreements. On this occasion, the political scientist said, “I am not sure what the Armenian leadership is thinking now about providing roads through the Syunik province. Is it going to provide them, or does it already understand that this will have negative consequences for Armenia? However, all foreign players in the region being interested in unblocking communication channels is a fact. So now it makes no sense to go against it. No statement, unless of course there is a signed and unpublished document now, says that the railway connecting Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan and the highway must pass through the Syunik province. Therefore, Armenia can bring this circumstance to the attention of all foreign players. There are a number of alternative routes that would connect Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan via Armenia. At the same time, the Russians should be informed that we understand that this corridor is for you to have a railway and road connection with Turkey and Iran without entering the territory of Georgia.”
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Tatev Harutyunyan
