If Armenia wants a border checkpoint in Zangazur, then it shall get one, but in Lachin
Yerevan has made their decision

POLITICS  04 November 2022 - 10:30

The Head of Armenia’s State Revenue Committee of Armenia, Rustam Badasyan, stated that the Armenian side is ready to service three new checkpoints on their border with Azerbaijan, with border crossing points and control mechanisms already having been established. Should the Azerbaijani side be ready to use the services of these checkpoints, the Armenian side is ready to provide them.

It is pointless to endlessly offer that, what was once rejected by the official Baku. These three absurd routes do not serve a common purpose and do not serve the responsibility Armenia took upon itself at the time of its surrender to unblock transport communications along the most optimal routes. Yerevan continues to play games that will lead to nothing but new disappointments for it (or even unfortunate consequences).

One cannot talk about one thing when signing a capitulation act whilst sitting somewhere in an unknown bunker, and two years later, having gained the dubious support of regional players, trying to play by different rules. Neighbours, this is not a match of football in the backyard, where you can cheat during the game.

It is not a matter of laying a new route, but of restoring what was already established and functioning in the Soviet era. In those years, a road was built along the railway track. The then Armenian SSR leadership, led by Karen Demirchyan, made every effort to prevent the appearance of a highway from Mindjivan to Ordubad along the northern shore of the border river.

However, Heydar Aliyev, then a member of the Politburo of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party, who was responsible for the transport sector of the USSR government, pushed this road through, which was eventually again rendered useless by the following Armenian authorities. Just as Heydar Aliyev achieved his goal then, Ilham Aliyev will see it through today. There should be no doubt about this in Armenia and elsewhere. And this is not someone being whimsy, but the understanding of the undeniable fact that this route is the shortest and optimal one in all regards.

Not only do the routes proposed by Armenia lengthen the path, but they are also not suitable for topographical reasons. With the growing flow of goods from Asia to Europe, it will not be possible to provide the necessary cross-country on these winding roads through mountain passes in the winter. From the Armenian side, these obstacles are placed intentionally, in order to "present" to Azerbaijan its own "Upper Lars" [a mountainous border checkpoint between Georgia and Russia] with its perpetual corks, snow storms and other difficulties.

Armenia is concentrating all the attention on the words "corridor" and "extraterritorial", trying to change the conversation. It is not about what these roads are called, while, by the way, Armenia does not hesitate to refer to them as "corridors" in other cases for some reason. The opening of communications will not lead to changes in state borders (let’s call them at least "historical" ones) or undermine the sovereignty or anything else, a claim that our southern neighbours keep yapping about. Is the International North–South Transport Corridor, stretching from the Persian Gulf to the ports in the Black Sea ports, somehow undermining the sovereignty of the countries which it connects, namely India with Europe, according to the talks in Tehran with Yerevan, through Iran, Armenia and Georgia?

The answer is no. Why then is all this hysteria coming from Iran on an apparent "changing of historical borders" in the South Caucasus? And where were you, Iran, when Armenia tried to redraw our borders for 30 years? Even the dam was not allowed to be built in the Khudaferin area!

And now Yerevan, spurred by the support that has suddenly come from Iran, has taken a "pose" and talked about sovereignty, which nobody is going to violate! It was not clear that Armenia would thus keep itself isolated, because no one would allow it to use transport facilities unilaterally on the territory of Azerbaijan. Baku will, and has already found, alternatives but what will you do, Armenia? You will remain isolated, rejoicing at the fact that they did not let the "Turk" pass these mere 46 km? As the saying goes, "I will take my eye out to spite my neighbour".

However, from today’s statement by a member of the Armenian government, in which he mentioned the border control point several times, it becomes clear that his country has made its choice regarding the Lachin Road. And now you can gather even a million people in the square of Khankendi. If you want a checkpoint, then be it checkpoint, if you want sovereignty, so be it sovereignty.

Caliber.Az