In his speech at the meeting attended by his Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin, Pashinian reiterated his government’s position on a transport corridor that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia.
“All statements that Armenia allegedly agreed somewhere, in some document that third countries should ensure the security of transport links in its territory are simply distortions of reality,” he said. “I would like to note that the same applies to some claims that Armenia somehow, at some point agreed to limit its sovereignty in the matter of regional communications.”
“Armenia's obligation is clear: to guarantee the safety of cargo, vehicles and people on its territory, and we guarantee that,” he added.
Russian Foreign Sergei Lavrov accused Yerevan last month of “sabotaging” the construction of a highway and railway connecting Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan via Syunik, the Armenian province bordering Iran. Yerevan and Moscow traded bitter recriminations on the issue in the following days, adding to heightened tensions between them.
The two estranged allies offer different interpretations of Paragraph 9 of a Russian-brokered ceasefire deal that stopped the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. It says that Russian border guards will “control” the transit of people, vehicles and goods through Syunik.
Armenian officials maintain that this does not mean they can escort the traffic to and from the Azerbaijani exclave, let alone be involved in Armenian border controls. Lavrov indicated early this year Moscow wants “neutral border and customs control” there.
Mishustin did not respond to Pashinian’s criticism or mention the issue otherwise in his speech at the EEU meeting. One of the Russian premier’s deputies, Alexei Overchuk, who has mediated Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations on the transport links, visited Armenia two weeks ago. Overchuk insisted that Russia is not questioning Armenian sovereignty over the would-be transit routes to Nakhichevan.
Russia’s renewed push for such a transport corridor has also alarmed Iran, which fears losing its common border with Armenia. The Iranian Foreign Ministry reportedly warned Moscow last month against contributing to any “geopolitical changes” in the region.
Incidentally, Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref also attended the EEU meeting in Yerevan and held separate talks with Pashinian on Tuesday. An Armenian government statement on the talks cited Pashinian as praising Tehran’s “principled” stance on “the inviolability of Armenia’s internationally recognized borders.” According to the statement, Aref reaffirmed his country’s strong opposition to the extraterritorial corridor for Nakhichevan sought by Azerbaijan.