Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the security of communications in his country should not be ensured by foreign forces, but by the Armenian army itself. By saying this, he confirmed that he was referring to the Zangezur corridor. However, the tripartite statement by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia clearly states that control of transport communications lies with Russian border guards.
Why does the Armenian government want to expel Russian soldiers from the Zangezur corridor?
news.ru sought an answer to this question.
“Pashinyan often lies,” said Armenian political analyst Grant Mikaelyan.
According to him, the Armenian authorities, with the support of the West, are continuing the policy of ousting Russia from Armenia and the South Caucasus as a whole. Yerevan is trying to abandon the Russian presence in favour of European border guards.
“At one point, Russia proposed a CSTO mission in Armenia, but Pashinyan agreed. However, later European observers were able to replace them. The European Union welcomed Armenia’s European tendencies and expressed readiness to deepen cooperation. In particular, the EU mission could be extended to the Armenian-Turkish border, there is information about this. It seems that Pashinyan wants to get rid of Russia’s presence,” Mikaelyan said.
Andranik Tevanyan, leader of the Mother Armenia movement, said that Pashinyan is against the control of the Zangezur corridor by Russian border guards, because he has certain obligations towards his Western partners.
According to the political analyst, the Prime Minister of Armenia himself is confused in his statements regarding cooperation with Moscow.
“Although Pashinyan sometimes makes pro-Russian statements, his pro-Western vector remains unchanged. Sometimes he has no problem with Russia, and other times he is preparing to leave the CSTO. He himself is confused and so are we. But one thing is certain: Yerevan, on the orders of its Western colleagues, continues its policy of ousting Russia from the region,” Tevanyan said.
Major General of the Russian security forces, head of the Central Executive Committee of the Russian Officers organization, Alexander Mikhaylov, said in a statement that if the Armenian authorities decide to withdraw Russian border guards from Armenia’s border with Turkey and Iran, a bilateral agreement will be initiated. This requires a negotiation mechanism. According to him, there is no discussion on this yet and Pashinyan “only gives informational reasons.”
“Russia should be involved in the discussion of this issue. Pashinyan cannot control Russian troops, Russian border guards and the Federal Security Service. He is the prime minister of Armenia who can only attract the attention of journalists,” Mikhaylov said.
Dmitry Solonnikov, director of the Institute for Modern State Development, said in his statement that the Zangezur corridor is one of the parts of the future international transport corridor “North-South”.
According to him, one branch of this route connects Russia with the southern ports of the Persian Gulf of Iran, and the other with the ports of the Mediterranean Sea.
“The main task of NATO and the United States is to establish control over all strategic, trade and logistical routes of the world, including the South Caucasus. Now representatives of Western countries are working, through the Armenian authorities, to bring the Zangezur corridor under the control of the US and NATO armed forces,” Solonnikov said.
