Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government meeting that the establishment of Azerbaijani posts in the Goris-Kapan area could be avoided, but it would cost "corridor logic."
Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said that Azerbaijan is placing customs and border posts on the Goris-Kapan Road.
"The question may arise, would it not be possible to negotiate on this road for the lack of border control over the citizens and cargo of the Republic of Armenia? It would be, but it would cost us the corridor logic, which is also unacceptable," Pashinyan stated.
The Prime Minister said that Armenia "rejects the creation of any uncontrolled transport corridors passing through its territory."
Pashinyan said that since Azerbaijan wants to establish a post on the Goris-Kapan road, Armenia will use the newly built Kapan-Tatev road.
According to Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan, Azerbaijan has not yet provided sufficient information on the method for executing border control.
When asked what legal basis some sections of the Goris-Kapan road are regarded to belong to Azerbaijan, Grigoryan responded "common sense," adding that the explanation for this common sense is the Soviet-era boundaries.
“We haven’t had a demarcation and delimitation process but we have an approximate understanding about this border, the basis of which is the map from the 1920s. Based on this map we generally imagine the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he said.
Asked what procedures Armenian nationals will have to go through in order to pass the given section of the Goris-Kapan road where the Azeri authorities have installed customs checkpoints, Grigoryan said that this part of the road has “a special status.”
“At this moment Azerbaijan hasn’t been notified on the procedure, but logically the procedure might imply some payment or something, and citizens can pass after paying. But since we already have an alternative road, it’s already built and open, then naturally using this road would be more convenient for citizens,” he said.
He said that no community has gone under blockade as result, and connections between towns won’t be impacted.
