YEREVAN — Speaking at a weekend conference in Yerevan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the “Crossroads of Peace” project is gaining global importance, serving as a blueprint for Armenian-Azerbaijani transport links.
Pashinyan emphasized that due to the ongoing events in Ukraine, issues have arisen regarding the flow of goods and passengers. He reminded the audience that large flows from highly developed industrial regions were previously directed to Europe, with many of these passing through Russia.
“The Russia-West passage has been significantly hampered by the developments in Ukraine, sanctions, and deteriorating political relations. As a result, problems are emerging in the flow of goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars. This is why these goods are now seeking new routes to reach the biggest markets,” Pashinyan said.
The prime minister highlighted that the movement of goods is not one-sided; it concerns both directions—East to West and West to East. Currently, hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of goods are searching for new routes to the West.
“This is why, over time, the Crossroads of Peace project has been gaining global significance,” Pashinyan stated.
He further explained the project’s purpose, noting that over 70 percent of Armenia’s borders are static, unable to support the flow of goods. “The Crossroads of Peace project is aimed at allowing Armenia to contribute by facilitating these massive economic flows. Moreover, the needs of Central Asian countries, in terms of exports and imports, are equally significant here. The main idea is for Armenia to offer its services for the movement of goods and services from East to West, West to East, South to North, and North to South,” he said.
Pashinyan also stressed that this initiative aligns with Paragraph 9 of the Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement, which ended the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
