Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan commented on the latest developments regarding the change of the route in the Lachin Corridor.
Speaking at the Cabinet meeting on March 30, Pashinyan mentioned that back in August 2022,the route of the Lachin Corridor was changed as a result of an agreement reached between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan authorities. A new road was opened, but since the Lachin Corridor (the road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia) wasn’t completely ready yet, a temporary route was launched. The temporary road was entering the territory of Armenia through the Kornidzor bridge, then passing to the Azerbaijani territory again, and then again entering the territory of Armenia. According to the agreement, this route was to function until 1 April, 2023.
“Yesterday we notified the Azerbaijani side that in accordance with the agreement, after the Kornidzor bridge the road will continue only through the territory of Armenia, and that the border guards of Armenia will assume the protection of the state border of Armenia in that section. The border guards will be deployed on the state border of Armenia, in the same positions where the military units were stationed till this day,” he said.
He warned that the Azerbaijani media are trying to misrepresent this.
“They are trying to misrepresent this as another blockbuster. This approach is not constructive, to say the least.”
Pashinyan reiterated that there’s been no change in Armenian positions. The only change is that the protection of that section will be implemented by border guards, and not the military.
“We’ve made a proposal to Azerbaijan so that the same happens from their side too,” Pashinyan added.
The Armenian Prime Minister expressed hope that this process will take place without any provocations.
