PM: Role of security guarantor of communications’ opening is reserved for Armenia under November 9 statement

The Crossroads of Peace project of Armenia envisages not only the opening of regional communications—railways, motors, possible natural gas pipelines, cables, power lines—between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also assumes that such a development should also take place between Armenia and Turkey. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this in his address at the Yerevan Dialogue 2024 international forum Tuesday.
"The Crossroads of Peace is important for us also because with this project we [i.e. Armenia] get the opportunity to have a railway link also with Iran, as well as with Turkey, with Europe, and with Russia. Of course, Azerbaijan also has the opportunity to have a railway link with Turkey, Iran through Armenia. The road link between Nakhichevan and the main part of Azerbaijan through the territory of Armenia is also important here. We [i.e. Armenia] are ready to provide such communications.
But let's also record that Nakhichevan is not deprived of transport link today because Nakhichevan has the opportunity to link with the outside world both through the territory of Iran and Turkey. We [i.e. Armenia] are ready to start implementing this project at any time," Pashinyan emphasized.
According to him, this process is hindered by the fact that not all of Armenia’s partners are inclined to take advantage of this opportunity offered by the country.
"Particularly, the question of to what extent the Crossroads of Peace project corresponds to the logic of also the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020 is being discussed a lot. An attempt is made to show that the tripartite statement implies that the security of these communications should be ensured by a third force or a third country. Such a perception has nothing to do with reality," Pashinyan said.
He cited point 9 of the aforesaid tripartite statement and stressed that the role of security guarantor of the opening of communications in the territory of Armenia is reserved for the latter.
"Making a reference to the tripartite statement of November 9, some international partners are trying to present what is not in the tripartite statement. And there is no such provision that there shall be another country’s overseeing over any territory of Armenia; there is no such provision at all.
There is no provision that would mean that the jurisdiction of Armenia in its sovereign territory should be limited in any way in terms of customs, border, phytosanitary, and other controls. Such a provision simply does not exist, nor could it exist," said the PM of Armenia.