The trilateral declaration signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the United States provides a clear answer to the question of simultaneous opening of communications. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made this statement during a press conference in Washington.
"The issue of simultaneity—our document provides an answer to this question, affirming that, yes, of course, it must happen simultaneously, and there is no room for misinterpretation. That is, it has occurred simultaneously; it was signed simultaneously. Technically, there may be differences in the tempo of construction—what gets completed first and what comes later. However, it is evident that our sovereign tools cannot be diminished. These include passport control, customs oversight, and state institutions that will implement these processes. I spoke about this very clearly during the July 16 press conference. As early as 2022, in the project we developed, we wrote that we were ready for certain simplifications. It is somewhat obvious to me that, for example, in 5 or 10 years, no country in the world will have the forms of passport and customs control that we are familiar with from the past," the Prime Minister said.
According to Pashinyan, many countries, including the United States, currently use completely different methods of passport control for citizens with biometric passports.
"A person approaches, presents their passport, and the same goes for customs oversight, and so on. In this regard, I also want to draw attention to one of the memorandums of understanding we signed with the U.S., which pertains to strengthening and building the capacity of border and customs services. The U.S. has very advanced technologies that they use domestically. These technologies are applied in their airports and border crossings today. This is a very important nuance. I am convinced that this offer will come from the U.S., as preliminary discussions have already taken place to ensure that all these technologies and equipment are available for application. Naturally, we will also simplify all procedures to the maximum extent," Pashinyan emphasized.
He added that regardless of the scenario, every action must be carried out within the framework of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdictional principles. "And, of course, reciprocity is also crucial. This reciprocity applies to the opening of roads. Reciprocity means that roads open for Azerbaijan and roads open for Armenia. If roads do not open for Azerbaijan, they do not open for Armenia either, although that option is no longer on the table. It is clear that these roads will be opened. Now, we must focus on building them efficiently, on time, and with quality."
The Prime Minister also highlighted that the focus should not only be on railways. "There will be other interesting projects—gas pipelines, possibly multiple gas pipelines, oil pipelines, possibly multiple oil pipelines, power transmission lines, internet cables, and so on. But whatever happens, everything must operate within the framework of Armenia’s sovereignty, jurisdiction, and territorial integrity. This is a very important principle," he said.
