YEREVAN. Oct 27 (Interfax) - Speculation on transport corridors in the Caucasus foments a hostile atmosphere in the region, while the opening of communications promotes peace, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.
"Any talk pursuing the logic of opening corridors only exacerbates the hostile atmosphere in the region. The trilateral statement of January 11, 2020 [on Karabakh, signed by the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan] talks about the opening of all transport and economic communications in the region. This means that the railways and roads that existed some time ago should be opened and utilized in some succession. They should be available to the countries of the region," Pashinyan said in parliament while taking questions from lawmakers.
"The opening of communications should pursue the logic of restoring peace and security. The routes of these roads are being discussed now, which should predetermine peace rather than conflict in the region," he said.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk told journalists in Yerevan on September 20 that there were no discussions on opening a transport corridor between mainland Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic via Armenian territory.
"No, this isn't being discussed. What's being discussed is the unblocking of economic and transport communications in the South Caucasus," Overchuk said.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been actively advocating the idea of the so-called Zangezur corridor in southern Armenia to link Baku and Nakhchivan.