Opening `Zangezur corridor` not on Moscow`s agenda - Sergei Kopyrkin
ArmInfo.Breaking through the "Zangezur Corridor" is not on the Russian agenda, which they are also trying to attribute to Moscow. This was stated by the Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin.
The Russian diplomat noted that the work of Russian diplomats in Syunik, after the opening of the Consulate General there, will contribute to the development of trade and economic relations between Yerevan and Moscow, as well as in the EAEU format.
"The Syunik region is the gateway for trade between Armenia and the Eurasian Union with Iran. A section of the international North-South transport corridor, which is important for the republic, runs here. As is known, the Russian side is facilitating the construction of this highway. The amount of financial support through the Eurasian Stabilization and Development Fund is $150 million. The Eurasian Development Bank also announced its involvement in the development of the transport framework of the Eurasian region. Russian companies and structures with domestic participation operate in the region," the ambassador noted.
Kopyrkin added that the expansion of the diplomatic presence in such a sensitive region is intended, among other things, to reduce the conflict potential of the South Caucasus that persists and is constantly fueled by external players. "We have like-minded people in this matter: since 2022, the Consulate General of Iran has been operating here, with which working ties have been established, including the development of interaction in the Moscow-Yerevan-Tehran triangle. The Russian Consulate General, along with the border guards of the Russian Federation guarding the Armenian-Iranian borders , will make an additional contribution to ensuring the security and territorial integrity of the republic," he emphasized. At the same time, the head of the Russian embassy believes that additional impetus will be given to bilateral interregional cooperation and strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties.
"Up to 1 thousand Russian citizens live in the region. There are a number of centers for studying the Russian language. The House of Russian Books operates in Kapan. The representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo in Yerevan organized Russian language courses for teachers of the Kapan branch of the National Polytechnic Institute. A series of initiatives of Russian municipalities to establish partnerships is being actively developed relations with a number of communities in the Syunik region. On June 16, 2023, corresponding protocols of intent were signed in Kapan between the cities of Urai and Meghri, Sestroretsk and Goris. In a word, there is more than enough work to strengthen Russian-Armenian relations," Kopyrkin recalled in a commentary to Sputnik Armenia. .
Kopyrkin also spoke about what Russian diplomats will not do. "By the way, what Russian diplomats are definitely not going to do in Syunik, no matter what our ill-wishers say, is "spying" - unlike Western lovers of driving around the region with binoculars. Breaking through the "Zangezur Corridor" is also not on the agenda, which is also they are trying to attribute it to Moscow. As is known, the issues of unblocking transport and economic ties in the South Caucasus are being dealt with by the Tripartite Working Group headed by the vice-premiers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan," the Russian ambassador concluded.
The Meghri route is a project of a transport route about 40 km long through the territory of the Syunik region of Armenia, which would provide transport links between the western regions of Azerbaijan and its exclave Nakhijevan Autonomous Republic. The opening of transport routes in the region was provided for by the agreements that ended the 44-day Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh in the fall of 2020. Azerbaijan is trying to acquire not a transit road, but an extraterritorial corridor, which it calls Zangezur.