“The opening of communications is an integral part of the entire peace process. The main track of negotiations (between Azerbaijan and Armenia – ed.) is the coordination of the text of the peace agreement. It outlines all the main parameters of the future peace, including the restoration of communications. This was stated by Elchin Amirbayov, the representative of the President of Azerbaijan for special assignments, in an interview with Estonian Public Television (ERR).
Elchin Amirbayov pointed out that, in addition to the main track, there are two others – the opening of communications, and the delimitation with subsequent demarcation of the state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia: “In the era of the Soviet Union, there was no state border – there was an administrative border between two Soviet republics.”
The President’s representative recalled the last meeting of the delegations of Azerbaijan and Armenia on November 20: “It took place on the conditional border of the two countries, because the actual border line has yet to be defined. These delegations are headed by the deputy prime ministers of both sides, who are also responsible for the restoration of communications. Over the past six months, negotiations have not been conducted for various reasons, as the parties had questions for the so-called mediators, that is, parties that facilitate negotiations. We hope that another round of negotiations will take place soon, and the discussion of the draft of this peace agreement, which was, by the way, compiled by Azerbaijan and first presented to Armenia just over a year ago, will be resumed.”
Speaking about the restoration of the Zangezur Corridor, the President’s representative noted that Baku started talking with Yerevan on this issue in order to “allow Azerbaijani citizens living in Nakhchivan or in the main part of Azerbaijan to have the possibility of unhindered passage through this territory. It concerns 42 kilometers of railway track, which, unfortunately, was destroyed as a result of the conflict. When we come to a common understanding with Armenia about how this road should function, there will be no obstacles… But it’s not only about constructing the missing section. By the way, from our side, this work is practically completed. I mean the Goradiz-Agband section. Unfortunately, on the Armenian side, even the work on the technical justification of this project has not yet begun. However, the main question for us is how the safety of Azerbaijani citizens, who wish to travel this 42-kilometer section, will be ensured. So far, we are only talking about the railway. In the future, we would like, of course, that the automobile communication between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan, and further to Turkey and Europe, was also agreed upon.”
The President’s representative also said that Azerbaijan does not intend “to limit the Armenians’ ability to travel through the territory of Azerbaijan in any way. But if we refer to the commitments that the sides have undertaken within the framework of the Trilateral Statement on the cessation of hostilities, its ninth paragraph clearly defines this part of the restoration of communications. In a global sense, it also means the restoration of communication between Asia and Europe. Certainly, if Armenian citizens want to travel through our territory, their safety will be ensured by our side. Another matter is that within the framework of the same Trilateral Statement, the Armenian side took on the commitment that the safety of the aforementioned railway section would be provided by the forces of the FSB of Russia, which now ensures the security of the external borders of Armenia with at least two neighboring countries – Turkey and Iran.”
In response to the question of what will happen if Armenia does not want to give Azerbaijan this transport corridor, Elchin Amirbayov answered that Azerbaijan had been waiting for about three years for “a clear message from Armenia about whether they want to restore this communication at all. During this time, we did not receive any clear assurances from them. We cannot wait indefinitely and at the same time, we cannot impose on Armenia something they do not want. Thus, we had to think about an alternative plan that would allow us to achieve our goal – to ensure the unhindered movement of our citizens from Azerbaijan to Azerbaijan. Negotiations with Iran on creating such a communication path have already gone quite far. The Iranian side is also interested in this project. Therefore, if we do not see in practice the willingness of the Armenian side to fulfill the promises they made, we will have to, without wasting more time, implement this project with Iran. Here we are talking about the Middle Corridor, whose geopolitical and geo-economic significance has significantly increased in recent years… If the Armenian side artificially delays the process of implementing the Zangezur Corridor project, then we will implement it with Iran. Well, if Armenia is ready to implement this project, then we will be ready to discuss it.”
