Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian pledged to give the United States exclusive rights to the corridor during his August 8 talks in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Crucial details of this arrangement remain unknown.
“Under what conditions and for what period will the management and exploitation rights of the unhindered road for the Azerbaijanis through Meghri (a town in Armenia’s Synik province) be granted? What legal regime and regulations does it imply?” Lilit Galstian, a deputy from the opposition Hayastan alliance, asked the head of the State Revenue Committee (SRC), Eduard Hakobian.
Hakobian gave no clear answers to this and other questions asked by Hayastan parliamentarians during a session of the National Assembly.
“I reiterate once again that the Armenia customs service will operate [at the corridor,]” he said. “As for the details, they are still under discussion.”
Baku maintains that Armenian border and customs officers must not check people and cargo moving to and from Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave via Syunik. Pashinian signaled on Wednesday readiness to meet this demand. He said modern technology will be used to exclude physical contact between Armenian officers and Azerbaijani travelers.
Opposition leaders say Pashinian’s statement only proved their claims that the planned Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) is tantamount to an extraterritorial “Zangezur corridor” sought by Baku. They also dismiss government officials’ assurances that Armenia will be able to use Azerbaijani territory for cargo shipments to third countries.
Hayastan lawmakers argued on Friday that a joint declaration signed by Aliyev and Pashinian in Washington envisages “unhindered communication” only between Nakhichevan and the rest of Azerbaijan. One of them, Tadevos Avetisian, said he doubts that Armenian exporters would use Azerbaijan as a transit route for their shipments abroad.
“Would you transport, under your escort, the goods you produce across 850 kilometers of Azerbaijani territory to Russia by train or car?” Avetisian asked his pro-government colleagues, seemingly alluding to security risks.
A senior U.S. State Department official, Brendan Hanrahan, visited Yerevan on Thursday to discuss with Armenian officials details of the TRIPP. He said after talks with Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian that Washington is planning to allocate $145 million for the project’s implementation.