(Read the full article on Arka.am)

Armenia’s Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated that the reopening of transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan is one of the priorities of his government, Arka reported.

“It is important to record that the opening of communications in the region is one of the priorities of our government, since it is as much necessary for Azerbaijan as it is for Armenia,” Pashinyan said.

He recalled that Armenia’s transport blockade by Azerbaijan and Turkey has been in force since 1992.

“On the other hand, as we have already stated many times, in the context of reopening of communications we have not considered and are not considering this issue as part of the so-called idea of “transport corridor,” Pashinyan said.

During a visit to Syunik region in late April, Nikol Pashinyan brushed off the allegations that Armenia was providing a transport corridor to Azerbaijan to get connected to its Nakhichevan exclave through the southern Armenian region of Syunik.

In a televised interview on April 20 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev threatened to take Armenia’s southern region of Zangezur (Syunik) by force, “whether Armenia wants it or not.”

“The creation of the Zangezur corridor fully meets our national, historical and future interests. We will be implementing the Zangezur Corridor, whether Armenia wants it or not. If Armenia wants to, we will solve this issue more easily, if it does not, we will solve it by force,” Aliyev said.