Pashinyan: We Could Regain Control of the Railways from Russia

In 2008, a 30-year concession agreement was signed, delegating the management of the Armenian railway system to "South Caucasus Railway" CJSC, established by Russian Railways.

Pashinyan mentioned that his recent call to the Russian side regarding the restoration of railway sections seemingly received a positive response. However, he raised a "very important practical issue" in the context of regional communications. Armenia is seeking the urgent restoration of the railway lines near Nakhchivan and Turkey.

Speaking about the "Trump Route," which aims to connect Azerbaijan with its exclave of Nakhchivan, Pashinyan stated it is clear the route would enter Armenia through Meghri from Zangilan in Azerbaijan and then continue to Nakhchivan.

However, Pashinyan noted there are "two rival options" for the railway's continuation. One is a project already announced by Turkey and Azerbaijan to build a new line from Kars in Turkey to Nakhchivan. The other option is through Armenia, from Yeraskh to Akhurik, where a railway line already exists.

Pashinyan pointed out that in Yeraskh, which borders Nakhchivan, only a few kilometers of tracks are missing, while in Akhurik, bordering Turkey, the missing section is "even shorter."

"From an international perspective, we see that the fact that this section of the railway is under Russian management is being used to make the Kars-Dilucu route appear more advantageous. This is a problem for us because we lose our competitive advantage even though we have a ready-made railway," Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan further suggested that a solution with Russia should be found through a "friendly, friendly, friendly, and brotherly logic." He did not clarify whether these remarks implied that he might demand the termination of the management contract with the Russian Railway Company.

Pashinyan stated that he had raised this issue during meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

"I said, 'We are moving towards normalization, we are moving towards peace—meaning we are already in a state of peace—and this railway passes through Armenia. So why are you spending billions of dollars to create something that already exists?'" he recounted. He added that this question was met with "diplomatic silence."

"We are talking about Armenia's long-term strategic interests, and all our friendly countries should be interested in ensuring that our interests are protected; otherwise, our interests will reach a dead end," Pashinyan added.

Armenia Will Never Act Against Russia

During the interview, Pashinyan was asked about Russia's concerns regarding Armenia establishing close relations with the EU.

"Everywhere, with all our partners, we share this idea: harming Russia or Russian interests has not been, is not, and will not be on our agenda. This is absolutely excluded," Pashinyan stated. He added that this stance has been shared with Russia as well as other international partners.

Pashinyan also emphasized that they had addressed the concerns of the Russian side and highlighted that Russia had been offered the opportunity to create a project similar to the "Trump Route" over the "last five years."

"Of course, the path Trump followed was not there back then, but we only asked for five words—five words. Those words were: territorial integrity, sovereignty, jurisdiction, reciprocity, and inviolability of borders. I said, 'Put these five words on paper, and I am ready to sign that paper at any moment,'" he said.

(Agencies, OC Media)