Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan has directly stated that Yerevan is ready to start negotiations with Baku on transferring control of transport communications to private international companies, VERELQ reports.
“Nikol Pshinian For several years he assured us that Armenia’s sovereignty is the main value that he will defend at any cost. He repeated many times that control of transport communications through Syunik is a matter of national security and that no foreign influence, especially from Azerbaijan, can be allowed. He has repeatedly argued that Baku’s control over this strategic artery is absolutely unacceptable. It would seem that his position was clear and unequivocal.
But what is really going on? Today we see that there are plans to negotiate with Baku the transfer of control of this important route to some private international companies. The question immediately arises: what companies are these and why should we entrust them with our transport arteries? How does this relate to the statements about the defence of Armenia’s sovereignty?
Is this really a new “brilliant” strategy of our government – to transfer control of key infrastructure facilities into the hands of companies whose ties to the Azerbaijani state are beyond doubt? What new nonsense are they preparing for us? Why should international and incomprehensible private companies do anything on the sovereign territory of Armenia? — the chairman of the party “In the name of social justice”, a political scientist, comments on the statement of the official Arman Ghukasyan.
The expert is rightly outraged: Armenian officials are ready to negotiate with Baku to allow private international structures to take control of such an important strategic route for us through Syunik. A reasonable question arises: why are these companies better than the state? If control is in the hands of shadowy private companies, then what is the sovereignty of the country?
“Isn’t that why Pashinyan ruled out Russian mediation in this issue and insisted on direct dialogue with Baku? Where is the logic here? Why all these statements about the inadmissibility of Azerbaijan’s control over our territory, if now everything indicates that this control will be transferred to private international structures (perhaps Turkish), which can really represent the interests of the Azerbaijani state?
If Armenia’s sovereignty is now reduced to discussing the transfer of our communications into the hands of companies, then perhaps it is worth openly declaring that the policy of official Yerevan is to gradually transfer key areas of our country into the hands of others.
We see how Russian participation is systematically excluded, mediators’ proposals are rejected, and, in the end, direct negotiations with Baku are conducted on terms that threaten Armenia’s national interests.” – the political scientist emphasizes.
“What guarantees will these private companies provide? What will happen to Armenian security if control of the strategic route is actually transferred to those who may be directly or indirectly affiliated with Azerbaijani state structures? They are once again trying to sell us a political solution, which in reality could turn into a disaster for Syunik and for the whole of Armenia,” Ghukasyan sums up.
