YEREVAN, March 4. /TASS/. Armenian authorities are prepared to adopt a decree on reopening economic and transport communications with Azerbaijan if Baku agrees, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated.
"Today, no transport or economic routes from Azerbaijan are open to Armenia or those passing through Armenia, no road, no railway, no pipeline, no electricity line, no cable. All roads of Armenia are open to Azerbaijan. Back in 2022, the Government of Armenia circulated a draft decree on opening three border points on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, which would enable Azerbaijan’s cargo and passenger vehicles to enter Armenia and travel, for example, to Nakhchivan and Turkey. These decrees were not adopted only because of Azerbaijan’s declinatory position and can be adopted by the Armenian government within a week or two," Pashinyan said in an article published by the Armenpress news agency.
Armenia is prepared to ensure the safety of Azerbaijani cargo transportation through its territory, the country’s PM emphasized, adding that "if there is a psychological difficulty for Azerbaijani drivers and trucks, this cargo transportation can be organized using Turkish trucks, which have always traveled and are currently too actively traveling on Armenian roads."
"Armenia has never undertaken any obligation, written or oral, or agreed or even hinted that the provision of safety on its own territory, including safety for international or Azerbaijani passenger or cargo transportation, should or could be outsourced to another country. There has been no such thing, there simply is no such thing. On the contrary, Armenia has undertaken to guarantee the safety of passage, which we are ready to do," Pashinyan added.
"Taking into account Azerbaijan’s claim that due to the long-standing conflict, Azerbaijani citizens will avoid passing through the Republic of Armenia border and customs control," Yerevan proposed at this stage "to start the opening of communications from railway cargo transportation in the Zangelan-Meghri-Ordubad direction and back, and in the Yeraskh-Ordubad-Meghri direction and back," the Armenian PM stated.
"So why is Azerbaijan rejecting these constructive proposals of ours? My conviction is clear: the opening of all regional economic and transport communications <…> is fully prepared for, and only Azerbaijan’s agreement is needed for its implementation," he concluded.