13:55,
YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. The Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan deputy prime ministerial working group has thoroughly examined all possible railway and automobile routes from technical and legal terms that will connect Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russian Deputy Prime Minster Alexei Overchuk said in an interview to the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper.
“An inventory of all international normative and legal acts is taking place. Firstly, it relates to the CIS because both Armenia and Azerbaijan are members of this organization. It happened so that every time when some multilateral agreements are being signed, the representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan make reservations to each other, ruling out the spread of the effects of these agreements on the opposing side. Such reservations, which hinder the transportation ties between the two countries, should be removed”, he said.
The Russian deputy PM said the experts of the Russian transportation ministry, Rosavtodor (the Federal Road Transport Agency) and Russian Railways have worked in the border territories of Armenia and Azerbaijan in spring.
“They have examined each road and railway, assessed the opportunities of commercial transfers between the two countries. The situation of railway routes, bridges has been assessed. Unfortunately, almost all possible routes have become useless, and the restoration of transportation communication requires huge investments. Thanks to the results of the work of these experts the sides managed to outline the future steps for the opening of transportation communication. A large part of the work is also connected with the legal issues. There are no diplomatic relations, checkpoints, customs houses between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In the past 30 years Armenia and Azerbaijan have done everything to make the movement between them impossible. All these painful issues must be solved”, he said, adding. “It’s difficult for the people as they bear the history of the previous life and the relations of their countries”.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan