We have long expressed our position on unblocking regional transport links in the Crossroads of Peace project. Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference on July 16.

"Armenia is interested in opening transport links, including from Armenia to Armenia through the territory of Azerbaijan, including from Azerbaijan to Azerbaijan through the territory of Armenia, bilateral trade, international communication from Armenia through the territory of Azerbaijan to third countries, from Azerbaijan through the territory of Armenia to third countries, and transit exchange. We view all these processes within the framework of Armenia's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction.

As for outsourcing, there are many well-known cases of outsourcing in Armenia today. For example, the management of Zvartnots has been outsourced. The management of the water system has been outsourced. The management of the Armenian railways has been outsourced. The nuance is that all these systems remain the property of Armenia. This is very important to note.

Now, for example, there is discussion about creating a company that will attract investment, since the Crossroads of Peace has enormous investment potential. We must try to consolidate these interests through certain factors. We talk more about highways and railways, but we could also be talking about pipelines, power lines, and telecommunications cables. This is an economy that needs to be created and managed. It should and can be owned by Armenia.

The issue of land leases is also being discussed. According to our legislation, this is called the right to develop, and, according to the logic of this right, investments made under this right become the property of Armenia upon expiry of the contract," Pashinyan noted.

According to him, various ideas have been and are being discussed in this context, but nothing has been signed yet. "We have stated that we are ready for certain simplifications. Surprisingly, there are forces and people today who are trying to present the opening of a railway through Armenia as a tragedy. In fact, the tragedy is that there is no transit railway through Armenia.

One thing is clear: we want and are ready to make Armenia a transit country. Of course, we must try to offer the most attractive conditions possible to convince international investors that this is a very safe and effective place and environment for investment. There are already interested global players, which may increase confidence in the investment environment," the prime minister concluded.