Azerbaijan wants to use roads but keep Armenia blockaded, says PM Pashinyan

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 12, ARMENPRESS. With its present-day narrative Azerbaijan wants the roads of Armenia to be usable for itself but at the same time for Armenia to continue being blockaded, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

“With its present-day narrative Azerbaijan wants Armenia’s roads to be usable for itself, but at the same time for Armenia to continue being blockaded. This seems to be an absurd wording, but our analysis of the Azerbaijani narrative shows this, that the roads open in Armenia’s territory, but Armenia remains in blockade,” Pashinyan said at a conference on the Crossroads of Peace project. He said that this unreasonable approach cannot be acceptable for Armenia.

In context of the opening of regional connections Pashinyan also spoke about the connection between Azerbaijan’s western regions and Nakhchivan. He underscored that Armenia is ready to provide that connection. Pashinyan recalled that Azerbaijan has said it will use Iranian territory if Armenia doesn’t want to provide the connection under their terms.

PM Pashinyan said that this narrative itself means that the terms offered by Iran for the Azerbaijan proper-Nakhchivan connection are acceptable for Azerbaijan.

“It is obvious that this option is acceptable for Azerbaijan. And we are saying that Armenia is ready to ensure the connection between Azerbaijan’s western regions and Nakhchivan under precisely the same terms. This is a very important emphasis for explaining the situation. Moreover, we are saying that we are ready to implement certain simplifications of passage and control for this connection, within the framework of reciprocity, equality, sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries,” the Armenian Prime Minister said, adding that this is a very constructive offer.

PM Pashinyan underscored that Armenia, however, cannot treat negatively the development of those connections through Iranian territory, because first of all Iran is Armenia’s neighbor and friend, and because it is a matter of sovereign relations between two countries.