Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Rustam Badasyan today referred to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recommendation, according to which the SRC and the NSS should ensure the movement of Azerbaijanis across the RA border to Nakhijevan.
“Government’s decisions were put in e-draft for public discussion, after that they were sent to the Prime Minister’s staff for further circulation, they were sent to interested departments, for the opinion, of course, certain works are planned in all the mentioned areas”, – the Chairman of the SRC said in a conversation with journalists in the National Assembly. :
He said that border checkpoints and surveillance regimes have already been established.
Badasyan responded to the question: what danger can this decision bring? ”No, what kind of danger are we talking about? We have announced that the agenda of unblocking is an acceptable agenda for the government and we have taken steps based on it. Armenia is in favor of the unblocking agenda.”
He said that the process can be said to be over.
“Perhaps, there will be shortcomings, but we are ready, if the other side (he means Azerbaijan) is ready to use the services provided by such points, then we are ready,” the SRC Chairman emphasized, noting that Azerbaijan has not yet given its consent.
Let’s remind: during the Government session on 4 August, Nikol Pashinyan announced that Armenia is always ready to provide a connection between the western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhijevan, but it is Azerbaijan that does not take advantage of the opportunity we have provided.
“Come, cross the RA border, go to Nakhijevan, today, according to the procedure established by RA legislation, as the order is. “Since last year, we have had a border guard and customs point, we told Azerbaijan that they can cross these points at any time and establish contact with Nakhijevan,” the Prime Minister said.
Already on August 18, the NSS put into circulation a draft that proposes to create checkpoints in certain parts of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
The expected result is the creation of new state border crossing points in Armenia in order to organize and implement the crossing of persons, goods and vehicles across the state border.
The new checkpoints are planned to be created in the Armenian-Azerbaijani regions of Gegharkunik (from Sotk community to the RA state border M11 highway for motor vehicles), Ararat (Yeraskh community for motor vehicles), Syunik (about 7.5 km south of Karahunj community, southeast M2 highway for motor vehicles) towards the border.
The Azerbaijani side responded to this proposal of the Armenian side.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Shahin Mustafaev, stated that the decision of the Armenian Government to establish three checkpoints on the border with Azerbaijan is viewed as an imitation of the fulfillment of the obligations assumed by point 9 of the trilateral statement of 9 November, 2020.
On 17 October, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reminded that the draft decision of the RA Government to open 3 checkpoints on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in order to ensure the connection between East Azerbaijan and Nakhijevan has been officially circulating for several months.
“The Government of Armenia is waiting for a positive response from Azerbaijan,” Pashinyan wrote on Twitter.
Later, the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan responded to Pashinyan, stating that they consider the options proposed by Armenia to open border checkpoints unrealistic.
