Armenia has rejected Baku’s demand for Azerbaijani citizens’ “unimpeded passage” through the transport corridor that is projected to link Azerbaijan to its exclave Nakhchivan.
“The statement by the president of Azerbaijan [Ilham Aliyev] that Azerbaijani citizens should not encounter the Armenian border service falls outside the logic of the discussions that took place. It is, in essence, a veiled territorial claim against the Republic of Armenia. It cannot be acceptable and contradicts both the spirit and the letter of the negotiations held and the agreements reached,” said Nazeli Baghdasaryan, the spokesperson of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Baghdasaryan said that during Aliyev-Pasinyan’s meeting in Abu Dhabi, and neither before nor after it, Armenia did not and will not discuss any other options related to the transport corridor. The Armenian official’s remarks came after Aliyev said in Shusha Global Media Forum in Nagorno-Karabakh on July 19 that after the opening of the so-called Zangezur corridor via Armenia’s territory, Azerbaijani citizens should not have to face Armenian border security due to security reasons. Yerevan believes Aliyev’s demands for unimpeded passage amount to extraterritorial corridor inside Armenia and implies the loss of Armenia’s sovereignty and territory. Armenia insists that unblocking of transport corridor should be based on Armenia’s territorial integrity.
During his speech, Aliyev also commented on the US proposal to oversee the transport corridor, stating “there will be no operator, no lease, no rental on our territory. We are doing everything ourselves. What does Armenia want to do? I don’t know.”
Aliyev said the transport corridor will be the artery connecting many countries.“The Zangezur corridor has the potential to transport 15 million tonnes of cargo at the initial stage. We are practically completing the construction of the railway to our border with Armenia and Iran. And in less than a year—perhaps by next spring—the Azerbaijani section of this railway will be built,” Aliyev stated.
