Azerbaijan uses the issue of the new route of the Lachin corridor as a pretext, allegedly it has completed the construction of a new route of the Lachin corridor, therefore, a number of sections of the existing corridor should be transferred under its control, Armenain Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a government meeting on Thursday.
"Such statements by Azerbaijan are also a violation of the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, and here’s why: Paragraph 6 of the said statement says: By agreement of the Parties, a plan for the construction of a new traffic route along the Lachin corridor will be determined in the next three years, providing a connection between the Nagorny Karabakh and Armenia, with the subsequent redeployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to guard this route. Azerbaijan guarantees the safety of movement of citizens, vehicles and goods along the Lachin corridor in both directions," he said.
"At the moment, there is not a single plan approved in a trilateral format by Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and we have proposed several times, and now we are proposing to do this, that is, to approve the plan in a trilateral format.
"Please note that the statement is not just about the construction of a new road, but about a plan for the construction and redeployment of peacekeeping troops, which is a very complex and tripartite process.
"At the moment, we have not agreed to any plan, because we have not even been offered a draft of such a plan.
"Although I must highlight that Armenia has begun the reconstruction of the Kornidzor-tech M 12 highway, which should be connected to the new route of the Lachin corridor, but I repeat, the tripartite statement is not only about the construction of a new road. Within the framework of the plan, a number of important issues should be clarified, including the issues of providing Nagorno-Karabakh with electricity, gas, and security issues,” Pashinyan said.
He stated that Azerbaijan is speculating, saying that Armenia is trying to avoid discussing these issues.
"This is an absurd statement in the conditions when I publicly announced the above program on June 27 this year during my press conference. Moreover, Azerbaijan went to aggravate the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh in those days when the construction of the M 12 Kornidzor-Teg road itself began. Under these conditions, Azerbaijan's desire for escalation pursues one goal - the elimination of the mechanisms established by the statement of November 9, 2020. Azerbaijan, which considers the statement of November 9 its victory, today sets one task - to cancel this statement and avoid ascertaining the realities fixed by this statement.
"Today, Azerbaijan is trumpeting a lot about the fact that Armenia has assumed obligations according to the statement of November 9. Yes, we took on obligations and fulfilled everything, Azerbaijan must fulfill its three obligations:
- recognize the existence of the unit of Nagorno-Karabakh, ascertained by the signature of the President of Azerbaijan
- respect the existence of the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh
- respect the existence of the Lachin corridor, the most important institution linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
Azerbaijan is obliged to fulfill these three obligations, if not, then we must include in our agenda the launch of international mechanisms aimed at respecting the obligations assumed by our own signature," Pashinyan said.
