Armenia is ready to find solutions for unblocking transportation and economic connections in the region, Armenia wants to find the best route, the problem is that, perhaps, Azerbaijan does not want Armenia to receive revenues, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with Public TV.
"We have no problems concerning the routes at all, I have no problem with any route, except for the logic of how technically feasible it is. We call that project "Armenian Crossroads" because we want as many vehicles as possible to use those roads, as many cargoes as possible to be transported, so that the Republic of Armenia receives as much revenue as possible from this cargo transportation. In this regard, no one can be as interested as we are in it being the best route; convenient, short, available 12 months a year, passable," said Pashinyan.
The Armenian side has never said that there is a route with which it will not agree under any circumstances. Armenia, on the contrary, has invited international experts, they will come soon.
"We need to find the best route. In the end, these roads will be built by Armenia. And if we build a road, invest millions of dollars, and it turns out that people are not interested in that road, there is no traffic, that road does not bring income to Armenia, it will turn out that we wasted the money from the state budget of Armenia," said the Prime Minister, adding that it is about international cargo transportation, citizens of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The Prime Minister mentioned that the road will connect the western regions of Azerbaijan with Nakhijevan, but also the cargo transportation of the Caspian Sea, a certain part of the Mediterranean Sea cargo transportation will pass through that route.
"And naturally, any government of Armenia should be interested in cargo transportation, both by rail and highways, to be as much as possible in order to bring as much income to Armenia as possible. In this regard, the problem is that maybe Azerbaijan does not want Armenia to receive revenues. That is another question, let them directly say it. Maybe Azerbaijan thinks that this issue should be resolved in such a way that Armenia continues to be under blockade. This is the problem," Pashinyan said․
The Prime Minister recalled point 9 of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, which is about unblocking transport and economic connections in the region. Everything fits into that context.