The National Assembly of Artsakh announced that the meeting between the leaders of the 5 parliamentary forces of the Republic of Armenia and the leadership of the Russian peacekeeping forces took place. “Particularly referring to the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, it was noted that the new route will have the same legal status as the corridor, and all security components will be preserved, starting from the 5 km security zone to the deployment of checkpoints of the Russian peacekeeping forces.”
We asked Artur Mosiyan (pictured), deputy of the ARF faction of the Artsakh National Assembly, to clarify some details about the meeting. “We talked about the corridor, that the new road will have the legal status of a corridor. Russian checkpoints will be placed on the new road after it is ready. We also talked about the latest incidents related to the military operations of the Azerbaijani side and violations of the ceasefire regime. The Russian side mentioned that they have made the necessary conclusions, that they will make every effort to maintain and strengthen the security of the population at a proper level,” Mr. Mosiyan said in our conversation. We clarified that the Russian peacekeeping mission has promised not to leave Berdzor until the new road bypassing the Berdzor corridor is ready. “They said and will keep the promise.
They said that the bypass road will have the status of the same corridor. The “parameters” of the five-kilometer corridor will be preserved, and they refer to point 6 of the statement of November 9, according to which a new route should be built, on which all the elements of the legal status of the corridor will be extended,” responded Artur Mosiyan. To the question about if the MPs fear that Azerbaijan will close the new road bypassing the Berdzor Corridor whenever it wants, creating security threats for the moving Armenians, Artur Mosiyan answered, “No. Both this road and the new road will have only peacekeepers with checkpoints, according to the head of the peacekeeping mission.”
As for what will happen to the issue of communications feeding Artsakh, the deputy said, “It is a matter of time, it is open at the moment and should be discussed more through the Aliyev-Putin-Pashinyan format. We don’t know if Nikol has a new verbal agreement or perception every day. It turns out that we do not know what was agreed upon. It is not clearly stated, but everything leads to it. Those perceptions and agreements destroy our house and continue to destroy it. It is not only about Artsakh, but also about Armenia.” Although the tripartite statement of November 9 does not provide for the depopulation of the Berdzor corridor, the residents of Berdzor city, Sus, and Aghavno communities were instructed by the Artsakh authorities to leave their settlements until August 25. Maxim Seleznyov, adviser of the Russian Embassy in Armenia, said the other day that “Russian peacekeepers will be relocated in the Lachin Corridor when the new road is ready.”
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Luiza Sukiasyan
