Armenia's Security Council Secretary: There will be no exchange of territories with Azerbaijan

“Armenia does not intend to provide Azerbaijan and Turkey with corridors that will not be controlled by the Armenia. There was no such agreement during the signing of the trilateral declaration of an armistice in Karabakh in the fall of 2020, there were no negotiations on this topic after”. This is a statement by the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan in an interview with the Iranian news agency Tasnim.

“Armenia does not consider the possibility of exchanging its sovereign territory with any territory of Azerbaijan”.

Rumors about such a possibility persisted in Armenia. As the Iranian journalist said, they caused concern in Iran as well.

Grigoryan, however, stressed that the Armenian authorities agree with the concept of unblocking regional communications, which the agreement signed with the heads of Azerbaijan and Russia presupposes.

The main theses and quotes from Armen Grigoryan’s interview regarding the situation in the region and cooperation with Iran.

• Armenia-Iran-Azerbaijan: “war” of transport corridors. Commentary from Yerevan
• Will Armenia open its airspace to Azerbaijan? Views from Baku and Yerevan
• “Tehran is watching closely.” What will happen to cargo transportation from Iran to Armenia

The course of Pashinyan government

In response to the question whether Pashinyan’s government is pro-Western, whether this could become a reason for strained relations with Iran, the secretary of the Armenian Security Council replied:

“We have repeatedly stated that we are a pro-Armenian force, we are pursuing the interests of the Republic of Armenia, we are serving these interests. In this context, I would like to note that it is in the interests of the Republic of Armenia to have close, good-neighborly relations with neighboring Iran. That is why, since 2018, we have been developing our relations with Iran in the spheres of economy, security, culture and many other areas”.

Economic cooperation with Iran

According to Armen Grigoryan, cooperation in the field of energy is one of the priority directions for Armenia. More intensive discussions are expected not only on the construction of a hydroelectric power station on the Armenian-Iranian border, that is, on the Araks River, but also on the possibilities of other infrastructure projects.

During recent meetings between Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Raisi, the creation of working groups for even more intensive work on the development of economic relations was discussed.

Unblocking regional communications and “corridors”

In response to Iran’s concern caused by various interpretations of the clause on unblocking communications in the region under the trilateral document signed by the heads of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, Armen Grigoryan said:

“As for the unblocking, I want to note that it is especially mentioned in the joint statements of both November 9 [on the cessation of hostilities in Karabakh] and on January 11 [on the creation of working groups to implement the item on unblocking communications in the region of the previous document]. I want to make it clear that there is not a single word about the corridor in them. Despite this, Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that a “corridor” is being discussed.

I want to concretize that Armenia has never discussed, does not discuss and will not discuss any issue in the logic of the corridors. […] Armenia is ready to provide roads, open roads, that is, to ensure movement along all existing routes for both Azerbaijan and Turkey. But all these roads will be under the sovereign control of Armenia”.

The Secretary of the Security Council also stressed that Armenia and Russia have a common approach to this issue.

As for the statements of the President of Azerbaijan that the corridor will be opened, be it through negotiations or by force, they, as Grigoryan said, are made outside the agenda of the negotiations and do not contribute to their positive dynamics:

“Armenia will not allow any changes in the borders in the region. On this part, we can say that there is also an international consensus”.

Rumors about the exchange of territories between Armenia and Azerbaijan

The Iranian journalist recalled that changes in the borders in the region are “red lines” unacceptable for Iran, and asked if the rumors about the possible transfer of the southern Syunik region of Armenia to Azerbaijan in exchange for territories in the north of Azerbaijan are true. Moreover, he said that persistent rumors about these behind-the-scenes negotiations between Iran’s neighbors cause concern in both Iranian society and the country’s authorities.

Armen Grigoryan assured that these are false rumors:

“The Government of the Republic of Armenia has never, I repeat, never negotiated on the sovereign territory of Armenia. We did not negotiate, do not conduct and will not conduct negotiations on the sovereign territory of Armenia. […] The topic of the “corridor” is being linked with the Lachin corridor. By the way, these negotiations were always public, everyone knew that we were negotiating on the Lachin corridor within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.

And when they talk in Azerbaijan about the possibility of having such a corridor in Armenia, this completely violates the logic of the Lachin corridor. Nakhichevan is part of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. And when Azerbaijan connects this topic with the Nakhichevan corridor, it seems that it is trying to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as a part of Armenia. “

The Secretary of the Security Council explained how the Armenian side sees the unblocking of the region according to the logic of the statements of November 9 and January 11:

• Armenia will be able to use the territory of Azerbaijan for communication with Asian countries, as well as with Russia,
• Azerbaijan will be able to use the roads of Armenia for communication with Nakhichevan.

“There is a more important area in the broader context of unblocking these infrastructures. Yerevan, perhaps, will connect with Julfa (Iran) by railway infrastructure through Nakhichevan, and from there with the Persian Gulf and the port of Chabahar – all the infrastructures will open up for us. And Iran gets the opportunity to connect with Yerevan and Tbilisi, as well as export goods and services to Europe. “

The issue around Iranian drivers and the North-South highway

For more than a month, Iranian drivers have been facing problems on the section of the road between the Armenian cities of Goris and Kapan. Azerbaijan has established a police and customs posts on the section of the highway, which came under its control after the second Karabakh war, and requires payment of customs duties “for crossing the border with Azerbaijan.” On September 15, Azerbaijani police arrested two Iranian drivers under the pretext of “illegal entry into the territory of Azerbaijan” Until now, nothing has been reported about their fate.

Customs posts, according to the official report of Azerbaijan, appeared due to the fact that “numerous facts of entry of Iranian trucks into the part of Karabakh controlled by Russian peacekeepers have been established.”

Since 40% of Armenia’s trade turnover occurs through Iran, the construction of bypass roads began urgently. Armen Grigoryan stated that one of them will be ready by the end of the year. But there is another, more important project, already approved by the government of the country – the road from the Syunik region of Armenia to Iran.

The matter concerns the southern section of the North-South highway, the construction of which will make Armenia a transit country. From the north, the road will connect Armenia with Georgia and provide access to the Black Sea and European countries, from the south it will connect with Iran. Part of the path has already been built. The European Union announced that it will provide 600 million euros for the construction of the southern, most difficult section of the highway.

“This program is estimated at $ 1 billion and will completely change the infrastructure of the region. By implementing this project, we are counting on the creation of an important infrastructure link, linking the port of Chabahar with the Black Sea. This project will give an opportunity to further increase the trade turnover between Armenia and Iran. If now it is hundreds of millions, then soon, we think, it will exceed a billion, ”said Armen Grigoryan.