We call the project of unblocking the highways and the operation of the railways the ‘Armenian Crossroads’ because we are, in fact, dealing with the North-South-East-West crossroads. The operation of this crossroads can be a turning point in the development of Armenia's economy in general, in terms of strengthening Armenia's financial and economic capacity. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this during the Parliament-Government question-and-answer session, answering the question of the ‘Civil Contract’ faction deputy Gevorg Papoyan.
He reminded that after the trilateral meeting with the President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on December 15, 2021, he stated that an agreement had been reached at the level of Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders on the construction and restoration of the Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz railway. Immediately after his return, he gave relevant instructions. A working group is created, which is already engaged in organizing the construction of the railway. Besides, recently, Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan met in Yerevan with Russian Co-Chair of the trilateral working group Alexei Overchuk and Head of Russian Railways Oleg Belozyorov, as the technical task is being discussed, designed and built.
The Prime Minister noted that in the meantime, there is another important action that needs to be taken.
“The agreement reached in Brussels in a bilateral or trilateral format should de jure become an agreement, be documented, signed, and, if necessary, ratified in parliament. This is an important nuance,” said the Prime Minister.
As for unblocking the roads, Pashinyan mentioned, “We have made proposals in connection with them, we have passed those proposals to the Azerbaijani side, Russia, our international partners, and as soon as we receive a positive response from Azerbaijan, we are ready to carry out the process of restoration and construction of roads.”
