Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has confirmed that Yerevan received a US proposal for unblocking transport communication in the South Caucasus region.
Pashinyan did not specify which routes would be unblocked. However, when asked by a reporter whether a specific proposal has been received over Armenia’s southern Syunik region through which Azerbijan wants a corridor, the prime minister responded: “Yes, we have received proposals from the United States.” He went on saying that apart from the US proposal, Armenia has received proposals from other countries as well, stressing that “any issue is discussed based on the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction’ of Armenia.”Furthermore, Pashinyan explained that the outsourcing of such a route would not compromise Armenia’s sovereignty. To prove his point, he drew a parallel between the proposed project and Armenia’s outsourcing of management of Yerevan's Zvartnots International Airport, its water system, railway, and previously, Armenia’s post operator, saying that those remain Armenian property.
Reports of US proposal to help the opening of the corridor linking Azerbaijan to its Nakhcihvan exclave first emerged in July. The issue of opening this corridor was also raised during Pashinyan’s meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Abu Dhabi last week, however, the meeting did not end in any agreement.
Earlier this week, Armenia denied discussing outsourcing of a regional communication route to US. On Monday, Pashinyan’s Spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan said Yerevan was discussing the issue of unblocking regional infrastructure “exclusively within the framework of its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction”. Reaction from Yerevan came after US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack suggested that the US could take over the road.
“So what happens is America comes in and says: “Okay, we’ll take over the road. Give us the 32 kilometres of road on a hundred-year lease, and you can all share it,” Barrack said in New York on July 11.
The US ambassador’s remarks are consistent with the earlier remarks by unconfirmed reports that Washington has proposed placing an American company in charge of overseeing transit of people and cargo from Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan via Armenia. Later on, US President Donald Trump said that Armenia and Azerbaijan would reach a peace deal.
