“It is reasonable: there should be crossing points on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border,” said cartographer Ruben Galchyan in a conversation with Aravot.am, referring to the draft law put into circulation by the National Security Service, according to which new checkpoints should be created on the RA state border. According to the project, the following checkpoints are planned to be created on the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border: “Sotk” (“Kelbajar”) Gegharkunik province, M11 highway from Sotk community to the RA state border: automobile (Kelbajar region) “Yerask” (“Sadarak”) Ararat province, Yeraskh community: motor vehicle (Sadarak district, Sadarak village: motor vehicle), “Karahunj” (“Eyvazli”) Syunik province, about 7.5 km south of Karahunj community, southeast M2 highway: motor vehicle (Ghubatlui region, Ayvazli village: motor vehicle).
According to Ruben Galchyan, it is possible and necessary to create such checkpoints even without delimitation and demarcation. “The delimitation may last 30-40 years, and this does not prevent the fact that on the borders established during the Soviet years, which we jointly signed and ratified with Azerbaijan in 1969-1970, then in 2010 the law on administrative territorial division was adopted, was indeed about internal borders… wherever the road crosses between countries, checkpoints should be created. I don’t know what they will call it: a customs post, a checkpoint, or a control point.”
He recalled, for example, the Azerbaijanis’ checkpoint near Karahunj. “Near Karahunj, in the part where they enter the village of Ayvazli, Iranian drivers are stopped, taxed, and finally, they have a checkpoint, but we don’t have one. Azerbaijanis may not let Armenians in, but they can enter our territory without any restrictions. It makes sense: there must be a checkpoint or control point. But there is another problem: there are no relations between the two countries. Traveling is not possible. We cannot go to Azerbaijan, or to our country, then there is a visa problem. These are important things.
Let’s say Azerbaijan agreed to let us go to Julfa using its own route. We let them go to Nakhichevan by car along the Araks coast, but we will go through their territory, and they will go through ours. Who should be in charge? What is the legislation? How will the visas be regulated? Who will give people the rights? These are important issues, but nobody talks about them today. In any case, we should also set up a checkpoint and not let foreigners enter our territory. It’s not right not to monitor this.”
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It should be noted that Derenik Khachatryan, senior researcher of the Luys Foundation and foreign and security affairs expert, expressed some observations about these checkpoints. “… Azerbaijanis will actually pass through the territories they claim the most, on the one hand through the Vardenis region and on the other hand through the Syunik region. It is obvious that the transit of Azerbaijanis in these directions is full of various threats, and Azerbaijan can use any pretext or provocation related to transit security to initiate new aggression against Armenia.”
Nelly BABAYAN
