Amid renewed media focus on regional transport connections, Prime Minister’s Spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan has reaffirmed that Armenia’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction are non-negotiable and cannot be outsourced or delegated under any circumstances.
Baghdasaryan said the public confusion is This is understandable to some extent, as the topic contains many nuances, which become even more complex when certain terms are involved — such as lease, concession, right to development, outsourcing. “Each of these terms can undoubtedly carry different meanings depending on the specific context,” she said.
To help clarify the issue for respected representatives of the mass media, Baghdasaryan emphasized that the Republic of Armenia has never discussed, is not discussing, and will not discuss any option for transport routes passing through its territory that are incompatible with the territorial integrity, sovereignty, or jurisdiction of the Republic of Armenia.
On the contrary, she said “within the framework of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction, the Republic of Armenia is not only discussing various models for the operation of regional transport routes, but is also interested in reaching an agreement on one of those models.”
“Those officials of the Republic of Armenia who state that Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss such routes are clearly referring to those models that are incompatible with Armenia’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction,” the Spokesperson noted.
“Those officials who speak of ongoing discussions are referring to models that fall within the framework of Armenia’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction — such as development rights and other mechanisms, which Prime Minister Pashinyan addressed during his July 16 press conference,” she added.
“Territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction of the Republic of Armenia, of course, cannot be outsourced or delegated. However, the business management of a railway, pipeline, or power transmission line can be. In fact, the maintenance and management of roads in Armenia is and always has been outsourced to private companies. The question is rather who carries out that management and how effectively. But that is unrelated to the current topic under discussion,” she concluded.
