The statement by ARF Dashnaktsutyun member Ara Nranyan that the South Caucasus Railways (SCR) are carrying out pan-Turkist projects is at least a manifestation of economic and political illiteracy, the head of the SCR press service Vahe Davtyan informed NEWS.am, adding that his words are pure populism.
SCR is a national carrier and the allegations that the company is cooperating with Azerbaijan are absurd, he noted. “SCR is a business entity not dealing with political issues. The Republic of Armenia has its diplomatic corps and relevant experts who are engaged in these problems, whereas SCR is ready to cooperate with the neighbors only after a political decision is made. We do not have any intention to take steps by ourselves,” Davtyan said. He also added that 97% of SCR staff are Armenian citizens and naturally cannot cooperate with Azerbaijan. As to the Russian Railways management, the SCR press secretary does not rule out a possibility they can have ties to the Azerbaijani elite. “At present, Azerbaijan is considered Russia’s partner and these courtiers are cooperating in transport and energy sectors. Gazprom Company (represented in Armenia by Armgazprom) is also cooperating with the Azerbaijani leadership in different spheres. Thereof, statement that the SCR leadership is cooperating with Azerbaijan is not worth commenting on,” he stated. Vahe Davytan also stressed that each statement should be based on true facts. “I do not think that Ara Nranyan can present true facts proving that SCR is a pro-Azerbaijani organization,” he concluded.
In one of his interviews, ARF Dashnaktsutyn parliamentary group MP Ara Nranyan said that the leadership of the South Caucasus Railways and Russian Railways has close ties to Azerbaijan’s political elite. Turkic states, from Bosnia to China, pursuing a goal to create a single transport system, presently implement their plan along Turkey-Georgia-Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan axis, he noted. “They try to persuade Armenia to participate in this project, that is to make the country a connecting link between the Turkic states of Europe and Asia to serve their interests. I think this is the reason, the South Caucasus Railways attaches major significance to the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border and, in fact, encourages resolution of the Karabakh issue not to Armenia’s benefit, as their strategy involves restoration of the Kars-Gyumri-Nakhchivan-Meghri-Baku railway. This can happen when the Armenian-Turkish border is open only after the Turkish preconditions are satisfied. Meanwhile, Nakhchivan-Meghri passage will be connected with Baku only in case the southern regions of Nagorno-Karabakh are controlled by Azerbaijan,” Nranyan said. Earlier ARFD members also accused the SCR management, and in particular Shevket Shajdullin, of being a representative of an extremist Islamic organization.
