Azerbaijani President`s statement that citizens of Azerbaijan shall  not face Armenian border service is beyond the logic of the  discussions that took place: Pashinyan`s Press Secretary

ArmInfo.  The Prime Minister's Press Secretary, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, has commented on Azerbaijani President's recent statements at the request of .

Question: Ms. Baghdasaryan, during the international media forum,  Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, developing the topic of the  "Zangezur Corridor", stated that "Azerbaijani cargo and Azerbaijani  citizens should not encounter the Armenian border service or anyone  else," and the Azerbaijani side considers this communication route as  an unhindered and secure connection between the territories of  Azerbaijan.  According to him, this issue was also raised during the  meeting with the Armenian Prime Minister in Abu Dhabi. He also added  that there will be no "operator, lease or rental of territory" in  their territory. How would you comment on his statement? What is  Armenia's position on this issue?

Answer: The Republic of Armenia has never discussed, does not discuss  and will not discuss the nomenclature mentioned by the President of  Azerbaijan and the logic arising from it with anyone. The Republic of  Armenia is discussing the "Crossroads of Peace" project with both  Azerbaijani and other international partners. The Republic of Armenia  also expects the unblocking of transport communication between the  Syunik region of the Republic of Armenia and the rest of the Republic  of Armenia, as well as from and to third countries through the  territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In turn, the Republic of  Armenia is ready to ensure transport communication between the  western regions of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous  Republic, as well as from and to third countries from Azerbaijan. All  this should take place on the basis of full respect for the  territorial integrity, sovereignty, jurisdiction of the two countries  and the principle of reciprocity. The Republic of Armenia has not  discussed and will not discuss any other option in Abu Dhabi on July  10 of this year and before or after that. The statement of the  President of Azerbaijan that Azerbaijani citizens should not meet  with the Armenian border guard service is beyond the logic of the  discussions that took place. This is, in fact, a hidden territorial  claim against the Republic of Armenia, which cannot be acceptable and  contradicts the spirit and letter of the negotiations and agreements  that have taken place so far. As Prime Minister Pashinyan noted in  his press conference on July 16 of this year, cargo and citizens  entering the territory of Armenia, including transit cargo, must  undergo mandatory customs and border control in accordance with  internationally accepted standards. The Republic of Armenia cannot  fail to possess information about who entered its territory and  whether they left or not after entering.  The compliance of citizens  and the documents presented by them cannot be checked, and in case of  non- compliance, their entry into the territory of the Republic of  Armenia cannot be allowed. The Republic of Armenia cannot not possess  information on whether the cargo or item that entered its territory  for transit purposes left the territory of the Republic of Armenia or  not, otherwise an uncontrolled source of smuggling and circulation of  prohibited goods may be opened. The Republic of Armenia cannot not  possess information on what cargo passes through its territory,  because, for example, if a wagon or truck loaded with chemical  substances breaks down, our country will bear the consequences and  the relevant services of the Republic of Armenia will deal with the  elimination of these consequences. There is no option not to meet the  relevant services of our country when crossing the territory of the  Republic of Armenia. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have a number of  international obligations, for example, on preventing and  counteracting various manifestations of international crime on their  own territory, and such obligations are implemented by states, among  others, through their customs and border services. Therefore,  Azerbaijan's statement is also incomprehensible to Armenia in this  regard. Another thing, and Prime Minister Pashinyan announced this at  his press conference on July 16: these meetings at the border and  customs points of the Republic of Armenia can take place using modern  technologies, sometimes without contact, with biometric passports and  online declaration and scanning of cargo. Now this is an accepted  format in many countries of the world. In any case, wagons passing  through the territory of the Republic of Armenia must also be sealed,  in order to exclude the release of smuggled goods from them. There  are also internationally accepted fees for transit. In the case of  railways, they are different, in the case of pipelines, on highways -  for trucks - different, for passenger cars - different, and sometimes  countries agree on tariffs on the principle of reciprocity. In all  cases, the corresponding agreed fees must be paid, and the state  budget of the Republic of Armenia must receive income from the  resumption of transport communications.  As for security, the  Republic of Armenia itself ensures the security of roads, cargo,  vehicles and passengers passing through its territory. Additional  security mechanisms have been envisaged for the communication routes  envisaged by the "Crossroads of Peace" project, including the  creation of a special unit for this purpose within the National  Security Service of the Republic of Armenia. The Republic of Armenia  is ready to ensure the security of transit, both for cargo, vehicles,  pipelines, cables and, of course, for passengers. As for the  investments necessary to unblock the transport routes in the two  countries, each country determines the investment schemes suitable  for it. Prime Minister Pashinyan clearly stated at the July 16 press  conference that no investment scheme on the territory of the Republic  of Armenia can exist outside the territorial integrity, sovereignty  and jurisdiction of the Republic of Armenia.

Question: Speaking about the construction of the railway on the  Azerbaijani side, up to the border of Armenia and Iran, Ilham Aliyev  noted that they are almost completing the construction of the  railway, and, probably, in less than a year, maybe even in the spring  of next year, the Azerbaijani section of the railway will be built.  He noted that no work has been done on the Armenian side in the last  five years, this issue is allegedly being deliberately removed from  the agenda. According to Aliyev, in this case, "the chances of  Armenia ever becoming a transit country are almost zero, and if  Armenia continues to hinder the process, it will find itself in not  only transport but also political isolation." How would you comment  on such claims by the Azerbaijani side?

Answer:  The Government of the Republic of Armenia has continuously  made the above-mentioned proposals to Azerbaijan to unblock the  transport routes of the region. Moreover, last year a new proposal  was made to Azerbaijan, according to which Armenian locomotives with  Armenian drivers and the implementation of the above- mentioned  principles could ensure railway freight transportation between the  Western regions of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous  Republic, as well as Syunik region and other parts of the Republic of  Armenia. Prime Minister Pashinyan spoke publicly about this proposal  furing the Yerevan Dialogue forum. However, Azerbaijan is either  silent or rejects these proposals. I am authorized to reaffirm the  readiness of the Republic of Armenia to implement all the solutions  outlined above. As for the construction of the railway, the railway  being built in Azerbaijan also has domestic significance (it connects  Baku and the Western regions of Azerbaijan). The Republic of Armenia  will have an incentive to build a 42-km-long railway in Syunik region  only in case of an agreement with Azerbaijan, since this railway  cannot be used even for domestic cargo transportation in Armenia  without an agreement with Azerbaijan.  Therefore, the accusation  directed at Armenia of removing the unblocking of regional  communication from the agenda is unfounded. The construction of the  aforementioned railway will begin immediately after reaching  agreements with Azerbaijan, and preparatory work is already underway,  for example, the construction of a new road for the village of  Nrnadzor, with which automobile communication now takes place along  the former railway line. The Republic of Armenia is interested in the  unblocking of all transport routes with its neighbors, and proof of  this is the "Crossroads of Peace" project created by the RA  government, which official representatives of Armenia present almost  everywhere.

Question: The Azerbaijani President also spoke about the peace  agreement, noting that Yerevan and Baku are more than close to  signing it. At the same time, in the context of the initialing of the  agreement, he continued to present the amendment of the Armenian  Constitution and the dissolution of the Minsk Group as a  precondition. Is the initialing of the agreement an acceptable option  for the Armenian side at this stage?

Answer: The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia has also stated  that Armenia and Azerbaijan are very close to signing the Peace  Agreement. As for the dissolution of the Minsk Group mechanisms and  the possible initialing of the Peace Agreement, this is an  understandable agenda for the Republic of Armenia, and active  discussions are now underway on the conditions under which this can  happen. As for the issue related to the Constitution, the Prime  Minister of the Republic of Armenia has repeatedly stated that if,  after the signing of the Peace Agreement, the Constitutional Court of  the Republic of Armenia recognizes it as contrary to the  Constitution, the Prime Minister himself will initiate constitutional  amendments in the Republic of Armenia. Until then, there is no reason  for this, because the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia  established by its decision of September 2024 that there are no  territorial claims to any country in our Constitution. Prime Minister  Pashinyan addressed these topics in detail  during the discussion of  the Report on the Progress and results of the Implementation of the  2021-2026 program of the Government of the Republic of Armenia in  2024 and during his extensive speeches at the "Yerevan Dialogue"  conference.  It is also known that Prime Minister Pashinyan launched  discussions on the need to adopt a new Constitution of the Republic  of Armenia back in 2018-2020, and now this issue is in the stage of  active institutional discussion. But this is a matter of the internal  agenda of the Republic of Armenia and has nothing to do with the  negotiations with Azerbaijan.    Question: And is the issue of the release of prisoners and persons  whose whereabouts are unknown being discussed in the context of the  signing or initialing of the Peace Agreement?

Answer: Prime Minister Pashinyan has stated that these issues are  addressed in all discussions, and the current negotiations are no  exception.