YEREVAN. Jan 28 (Interfax) - It is possible to unblock economic and transport communications in Nagorno-Karabakh but that would require the resolution of security issues, Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan said on Thursday.
"There are lots of questions and aspects that require an in-depth analysis but, of course, this is possible," Grigoryan said, when asked whether the unblocking of transport communications was even possible.
Security is a top priority, Grigoryan said. "Everything needs to be discussed in detail in order to resolve the problems and to create a working system," he said.
On Wednesday, Moscow reaffirmed plans to hold the first meeting of the trilateral group of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, which is tasked with unblocking economic and transport communications in Nagorno-Karabakh and the South Caucasus, on January 30.
Grigoryan said that the meeting agenda had yet to be prepared.
"We will meet in furtherance of the statement made on January 11. It is necessary to draft the agenda. An atmosphere of confidence will be necessary for the achievement of goals, or else the attainment of goals will prove difficult. At the moment, we are planning to meet consistent with Clause 4 of the statement dated January 11," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on January 11, following negotiations with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, that the sides had signed a statement on the establishment of a trilateral group to promote the development of economic relations and infrastructure projects in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Clause 4 compels the working group to present before March 1 for the approval on the summit level a list of measures aimed to renovate and build transport infrastructure elements required for international transit via Azerbaijan and Armenia, and transportation conducted by Azerbaijan and Armenia that requires the crossing of their territories, and a schedule for the fulfillment of these measures.
The need to unblock economic and transport communications in the region was declared in the final provision of the trilateral statement on the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was adopted on November 9, 2020.