Author: Ekmekjian Janet

ArmInfo.The idea of “equitable withdrawal of troops” is part of the policy of peaceful surrender of territories Tigran Abrahamyan, MP from the “I have the honor” bloc,  stated this during his speech at an opposition rally. < This must be  prevented, there is no other way!>, the parliamentarian said. In  this regard, he noted that such ideas can only be put forward by  people who have no idea about the features of life in the border  regions and settlements.

Noting that the idea of  equitable withdrawal of troops was voiced by  the head of the Armenian government not only on the situation in  Artsakh, Abrahamyan stressed that the Sotk-Khoznavar, Syunik,  Gegharkunik, Vayotsdzor, and Yeraskh sectors in the Ararat region are  under actual threat.

The parliamentarian said that today Armenia has no alternative to the  modernization of the Armed Forces, the creation of a modern  technological army. However, the authorities, in response to such  calls from the opposition, as Abrahamyan further noted, only increase  funding for the law enforcement bloc, in particular the Police, the  Investigative Committee, and the Prosecutor’s Office. The MP assessed  such actions of the current government as nothing but the latter’s  desire to maintain power, rather than to ensure the safety of the  citizens of Armenia and Artsakh.

Speaking about the upcoming meeting between Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham  Aliyev, Abrahamyan said that said that the expectations of achieving  good results are in vain, taking into account the absence of a strong  security system and a strong army. 

ArmInfo.On March 31, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at a government meeting that it is inadmissible to draw parallels between the Lachin corridor and the road opening between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan through the territory  of the Republic of Armenia.

According to Pashinyan, Baku distorts paragraph 9 of the tripartite  statement of November 9, 2020 on the restoration of transport and  economic communications in the region, the launch of a road  connecting the western regions of Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan. “You  know that Armenia has come up with comprehensive proposals on this  topic. Without going into details, I will say that the essence of our  proposal is as follows: reconstruct the  Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz railway, reopen or build a  highway that will connect the western regions of Azerbaijan with  Nakhichevan, by exercising border, customs and other control at  border crossings,” he recalled.

According to the prime minister, Baku accepts and rejects this  position of the Armenian side at the same time. “They say they agree  with any legal regime for the operation of this road, but the same  regime should operate in the Lachin corridor, and in support of this  position they refer to the statement of November 9,” he said.

According to Pashinyan, this statement is unfounded for two reasons.   “Firstly, in the November 9 statement, there is no mention of any  corridor other than Lachin. The Lachin corridor is not only a  corridor, but also a 5 km wide area, which is under the control of  Russian peacekeepers, and this is enshrined in a tripartite  statement. There is no any clause on control over any  part of  Armenia by another country,” he said.

As the prime minister pointed out, it is strange to draw parallels  between Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhichevan for several reasons.   “Firstly, Nakhichevan has land communication with Azerbaijan through  the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey, air communication – through  the airspace of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey and the Republic  of Armenia. And Nagorno-Karabakh has only land communication with  Armenia – only through the Lachin corridor, and make the Lachin  corridor in any way controlled by Azerbaijan means one thing: the  expulsion of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh,” Pashinyan explained.

Thus, as the head of the RA government stressed, comparing the Lachin  corridor with a road that will be opened through the territory of  Armenia is unacceptable, the statement of November 9 does not  envisage the existence of any corridor through the territory of  Armenia, and Armenia has not accepted and will not accept any  corridor logic.

At the same time, Nikol Pashinyan once again announced his readiness  to open a railway and a highway within the framework of the proposals  of the Armenian side. “But we consider it necessary to sign a de jure  agreement with Azerbaijan. Why? Because we see a very specific risk  when Armenia builds both a road and a railway, and Azerbaijan refuses  to open the border. And it turns out that neither Armenia, nor  Azerbaijan, nor third countries will not be able to use the  infrastructure that requires investments of several hundred million  dollars, and Armenia will simply lose several hundred million  dollars. What do we propose today? We propose to open the railway in  2021. De jure agreements reached in Brussels on December 14 2012,  coordinate the parameters of the railway and start construction, or  do it in a package, including the highway, and we are ready to do it  as soon as Azerbaijan responds positively to our proposals,” the  prime minister said. According to him, the proposals were submitted  to international partners, who considered them logical, acceptable,  meeting the interests of all countries in the region. 

ArmInfo.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh issued a statement in connection with the termination of gas supply.  As the pres service  of the Artsakh MFA reports, the statement reads, in part:

“In the evening of March 21, the Azerbaijani authorities again  disrupted the gas supply to Artsakh, depriving its population of an  important heating resource in extremely cold weather conditions.   Azerbaijan’s behavior is humanitarian terrorism. It grossly violates  the human rights, the norms and principles of international  humanitarian law and does not fit into the norms of morality in any  way.  This heinous act is another demonstration of hatred and  nationalism.  The Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Artsakh  strongly condemns the policy of Azerbaijan and appeals to the  international community with an urgent request to give an adequate  assessment of the situation.  Azerbaijan’s misanthropic steps cannot  affect the will and determination of the people of Artsakh. We will  continue to live and create in our historical homeland, develop and  strengthen our independent statehood,” they concluded.

It should be noted that late on the evening of March 21, it became  known that the Azerbaijani side had cut off the gas supply to  Artsakh. ” As a result of the direct intervention of the Azerbaijani  side, the gas supply to the Artsakh Republic was again disrupted. We  have sufficient grounds to claim that during the repair works of the  gas pipeline exploded on March 8, the Azerbaijani side installed a  valve, through which it disrupted the gas supply hours ago.  

Azerbaijan uses the unfavorable weather conditions to create  additional humanitarian problems for our population and makes a  criminal action.  The command of the Russian peacekeeping force  stationed in Artsakh was immediately informed about the situation,  together with which the Artsakh authorities are making appropriate  efforts to restore gas supply.  At the same time, we urge citizens to  use electricity as sparingly as possible to avoid possible power  outages,” the Artsakh Information Headquarters said in a statement.