If safety is not ensured for cargo transportation, there won’t be cargo transportation, and if Armenian cargo can’t pass through the territory of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani cargo also can’t pass through the territory of Armenia. This is what Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said during his online press conference today.
“Obviously, when we discuss these issues, we take into consideration the fact that there needs to be cargo transportation. Imagine how illogical it would be, if Armenia suddenly opened a route and it wasn’t used,” he said, adding that there are talks about construction of the Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan railway costing approximately $200,000,000, which is very close.
Asked if it is likely that the negotiations will lead to the signing of a peace treaty, Pashinyan said the following: “Of course, Armenia is interested in the signing of a peace treaty and the start of talks over the signing of that treaty. If Armenia has declared that it wants to open an era of peace, it would be illogical, if Armenia said it doesn’t want to hear anything about a peace treaty. If we succeed in creating a model of peace that will be favorable for both sides, perhaps there will be an opportunity to understand each other’s viewpoints and form a new scheme,” he said.
According to Pashinyan, in Sochi and Brussels, there were such preconditions, but the events that took place after the meeting in Sochi put the talks in jeopardy. “Fortunately, there were no such events after the meeting in Brussels, and I hope we can move forward. I returned from the meeting in Sochi with a feeling of satisfaction, and I talked about that during a briefing. However, there were statements that made me think that something was misunderstood. In Brussels, there was tension in the beginning of the meeting, but during the meeting, we tried to understand each other’s viewpoints when we saw that it was entering a deadlock. There were practical issues, and I saw opportunities for solutions,” he emphasized.
