PM hopes Armenia will soon begin exports to Azerbaijan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed why he has, on various occasions, expressed gratitude to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the decision to lift all restrictions on the transit of goods to Armenia through Azerbaijani territory.

The Prime Minister emphasized that this is done to show Armenia’s positive assessment of the ongoing developments.

A reporter asked the Prime Minister why he has, on multiple occasions and across different platforms, expressed gratitude to the President of Azerbaijan for lifting restrictions on the transit of goods to Armenia.

“Something has happened concerning Armenia, and Armenia needs to express its position. We are expressing our position that we view these developments positively,” he replied.

Prime Minister Pashinyan clarified that, in fact, not just one, but several events have taken place.

“The ban on wheat imports has been lifted—first for Kazakhstan, and later for Russia. It has also been noted that there are no restrictions on rail transport in the opposite direction from Armenia. Currently, we are not taking full advantage of this because, in my perception, our way of thinking and our scale of activity operates according to the logic of a single ‘cart.’ In other words, there is no understanding that the train should be fully loaded and that the goods should be consolidated in one place at once, because the train cannot travel empty—and all of this is complicated,” explained Pashinyan, adding that another development has also taken place: Azerbaijan has agreed to sell petroleum products to Armenian businessmen, and that deal has been completed.

The Prime Minister expressed hope that steps will soon be taken to promote bilateral trade between Armenia and Azerbaijan, including exports from Armenia to Azerbaijan.

According to Pashinyan, it would be strange for Armenia not to express its position regarding these developments.

“Yes, I am expressing that position, and I am doing the right thing. Moreover, why record it separately in different places? It is important for it to be documented in various places because it also matters for the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). We have established railway connectivity with the EAEU, which we did not have before. It is very important to assess the scale of what has happened,” said the Prime Minister, emphasizing that all of this indicates that peace has been established and that it has concrete manifestations.