“According to the November 9 statement, an alternative road plan was to be designed through the Lachin corridor within three years, in agreement with the parties. At present, we are provided with a road that runs along the Lachin corridor, which is 5 kilometers wide, due to which the issue of eviction of Armenians from Berdzor, Aghavno, and Sus communities has arisen.
The Prime Minister of Armenia says that the Azerbaijani authorities were involved in the choice of this route; we were guided by their preferences. Is this newly constructed road related to the road described in point 6, or is it another road, perhaps a high-quality one? Did you give your consent? When?
And prior to giving your consent, did you consider the issue of evicting Armenians from the mentioned settlements?” addressing the President of the Republic of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan in the Artsakh Parliament, the deputy of the opposition Justice faction Metakse Hakobyan asked.
Arayik Harutyunyan answered, “Regarding the route, we had several proposals both from Azerbaijan and from Russia. All offers were rejected. The current highway, or rather the proposed one, has been discussed several times in the Security Council, which was attended by all the political forces present in the National Assembly.
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We have chosen, in our opinion, the best option. There are some secrets I do not want to reveal here. Why did we choose that option based on our future security concerns? Once the road is completed, we will have the opportunity to say whether it meets the standards we want in terms of quality, whether it will be safe, and I think it will be much safer, given the many safety issues.”
He promised to present the security details in a closed hall. As for the MP’s question regarding the eviction of Armenians, Arayik Harutyunyan said that such an issue had not been discussed, that it was only about Aghavno settlement, as it was written in the 6th point of the November 9, 2020 statement that we should leave Berdzor. As for Aghavno, the Artsakh authorities continue negotiations. “We did not tell anyone to leave Berdzor,” said Arayik Harutyunyan, adding later that we have almost no residents in the village of Sus today. “Regardless of everything, we must bypass Berdzor. I consider the possibility of our compatriots to live in Berdzor very little in the future. We will continue our struggle in Aghavno.”
Metakse Hakobyan stated from that answer that what was done was not within the framework of point 6. He reiterated the statements made at Nikol Pashinyan’s press conference that in case of a change of route, the territories that are not within the former border of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region will pass under the control of Azerbaijan. “We solve the problems of the residents of Lachin by government decisions, the residents must be provided with housing. People and families do not live in Lachin today. I think the problems of the residents of Aghavno village will be solved with the help of the Artsakh government. I can not say about the village of Sus because I do not have information at the moment. The name of the Sus village was not mentioned during the discussion with the Artsakh government.”
Based on what Nikol Pashinyan said, the deputy noted that the RA Prime Minister was proving in every way that every issue had been discussed with the Azerbaijani authorities. She inquired if everything was clear and if he had agreed on everything, why didn’t he inform the public what to expect?”During the discussion with the RA Prime Minister regarding Aghavno, I said that we are holding negotiations. Let us see what opportunities are within our negotiation framework,” said Arayik Harutyunyan, adding that the issue has never been secret. The topic of the highway has always been discussed in meetings with all NGOs and political forces.
Nelly GRIGORYAN
