The contribution to the establishment of lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus is a top priority for the Republic of Armenia, , Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during an interview with Greek Ekathimerini newspaper. The following is a piece of the interview referring to the connections.
Ekathimerini, Athanasios Katsikidis- In your meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, you highlighted the “Crossroads of Peace” project for the creation of a trade hub that will run from Armenia westwards through Turkey to the Mediterranean Sea and Greece. How would your proposed plan promote regional stability and security in the Caucasus to the Mediterranean?
The contribution to the establishment of lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus is a top priority for the Republic of Armenia. In the process of the desired change, Armenia stresses the need to remove the blockade of infrastructure in the region. The “Crossroads of Peace” project includes, inter alia, a significant increase in the capacity to transport goods, cars, electricity transmission pipelines, and Internet cables between the Black Sea on the one hand and the Persian Gulf as well as the Gulf of Oman on the other, passing through the territories of Armenia. The project also envisages the creation of a rail link between the above-mentioned final destinations, which is possible if Armenia-Azerbaijan relations are normalized. It should be remembered that the optimal railway route from Georgia entering Armenia and continuing to the Islamic Republic of Iran passes through Nakhijevan, Azerbaijan, which has existed since the Soviet Union. This is the north-south wing of the “Crossroads of Peace.”
Still, there is the east-west wing, which can connect the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the Turkish Black Sea ports through the territory of Armenia. For this, highways, railways, pipelines, power transmission lines, and cables must enter Turkey from Azerbaijan through Armenia. And we are ready to provide such solutions.
So, for the operation of all these infrastructures we have adopted the commonly accepted principles in the “Crossroads” of Peace project, which are as follows: a) all infrastructures are under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries through which they pass; b) each country implements border and customs control on its territory through its state institutions, as well as takes the necessary measures for its security; c) the designated infrastructures can be used for both international and domestic transport; d) finally, all countries use the infrastructure for the transport of goods.
