Pashinyan “We Rule Out Any Corridor in the Territory of the Republic of Armenia”

YEREVAN — Speaking at the 6th convention of the ruling Civil Contract party on Saturday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he was ready to sign a document (based on Russian proposals) on the 15-point proposals submitted by Russia.

“That means accepting that document as a basis for the signing of a future peace treaty with Azerbaijan,” PM Pashinyan said. He earlier said in a Twitter post that Armenia had agreed to the Russian proposals in early September.

“In my Twitter post I voiced hope the Russian Federation would support its own proposals. This is a very important nuance,” he said.

The Prime Minister noted that among other things, the document refers to the Russian peacekeepers.

“Do we want the Russian peacekeepers to continue their activity in Nagorno Karabakh, Of course, we do,” he said, adding that he will agree to sign the extension of the Russian peacekeeping mission for another 10 or 20 years.

“I officially declare that I am ready to sign in Sochi a document on unconditional extension of the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh for 10, 15, 20 years. I propose that the President of Russia make such a proposal; I will make such a proposal if necessary, but Russia must support this proposal because I cannot decide for Russian peacekeepers to stay there for any period of time. This is a trilateral paper, and if Russia and Armenia agree on it, they will be in the majority,” he said.

“But we need to talk openly about what the peacekeepers are doing in Artsakh, because we have not forgotten the events in Parukh, where the Azerbaijani troops are yet to withdraw from the zone of responsibility of the peacekeepers,” he said.

“These questions must be voiced (at October 31 meeting): whether Russia is clearly complying with its proposals or not,” he said.

Armenia Will Not Provide Any Corridor to Anyone
To establish peace, it’s necessary to implement all the provisions of the trilateral statements of November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021, and bring the Nagorno Karabakh issue to a certain haven, Pashinyan said.

“Everyone is saying that the unequivocal implementation of the November 9 statement is a necessary condition. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia and the international community are saying the same,” he said, adding that it’s important to rule out misinterpretations of the text of the statement.

“We have said we rule out any corridor in the territory of the Republic of Armenia and will not provide any corridor to anyone. This is a principled and irrevocable position, based on the November 9 statement,” he said.

“Point 9 of the trilateral statement is about unblocking, it’s about the opening of all regional communications, and there is a provision that the Republic of Armenia should ensure a link between the western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhijevan. Secondly, it says when/if the parties agree, new roads can be constructed to ensure that communication,” the Prime Minister noted.

He said a draft decision on providing a link between the western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhijevan has been circulated and can be adopted within hours, but Azerbaijan is refusing from the option, insisting on new infrastructure, which will be separated and won’t be controlled by the Republic of Armenia.

“We do not agree to that and it cannot be real. We are ready for construction of new roads. It is part of our Armenian Crossroads program. But it should take place within the framework of our legislation,” PM Pashinyan said.