Armenia denies Azerbaijan’s "corridor" claims

MEHR NEWS AGENCY, Iran

TEHRAN, May 24 (MNA) – A senior Armenian government official denied Baku's new remarks about an agreement on the opening of a corridor, saying that no road or transport route can function as a "corridor" in the territory of Armenia.

Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan told Armenpress on Tuesday that there have been no changes in Armenia's stance on the matter. 

Grigoryan's remarks came after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that during a May 22 meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the two sides reached an agreement on the opening of a "corridor" through Armenian territory, including the construction of both railways and highways.

"No road or transport route can function as a corridor in the territory of Armenia. All agreements reached in Brussels related to the opening of regional connections. They fit in the framework of the public statements made previously by representatives of Armenia," Grigoryan said.

"You can see in the statement of the President of the European Council that the agreements in the context of the opening of regional connections relate to the border and customs control, road fees and organizing international transit. These are important issues for realizing the Armenian Crossroads project and the Government of Armenia will consistently move in this direction.

Earlier, Turkey's Anadolu Agency reported that  Aliyev spoke over the phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and updated him on a trilateral meeting between himself, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels on Sunday.

“The president of Azerbaijan touched on the preparation of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the presentation by Azerbaijan of five principles based on international law, the normalization of relations between the two countries, the opening of transport corridors, and the delimitation of borders discussed during the meeting,” Azerbaijan’s Presidency statement read. 

“Aliyev gave a positive assessment to the results of the trilateral meeting,” it added.

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