Any road that passes through the territory of Armenia must be controlled by Armenia. Toivo Klaar: "Armenpress"

According to Toivo Klaar, the EU's special representative for the crisis in the South Caucasus and Georgia, it is quite logical that in the context of unblocking communications in the South Caucasus, any road, any railway that will pass through the territory of Armenia should be controlled by Armenia.

In an exclusive interview with "Armenpress" correspondent in Brussels, Klaar referred to the "Crossroads of Peace" project proposed by the Armenian authorities, the possible peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the guaranteed safe return of Nagorno Karabakh Armenians to their homes.

“Unlike Azerbaijan, which regularly talks about the so-called Zangezur Corridor in the context of unblocking regional communications, obviously implying the idea of having an extra-territorial corridor through the sovereign territory of Armenia, the Armenian government proposes the "Crossroads of Peace" project, which implies unblocking regional communications under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of countries on the basis of which, as a result of its implementation, the region can become an important international logistic and commercial intersection. It can also be a kind of guarantee of peace. How would you interpret this initiative of the Armenian government and what opportunities do you see here? Do you consider the implementation of this project possible, taking into account the destructive position of Azerbaijan in the matter of unblocking communications?”

“First, I think that a few months ago (ed. in May 2023) President Aliyev announced on television in Moscow that during his meeting with Prime Minister Pashinyan in the presence of President Putin, he very clearly said that calling it a "corridor" does not imply extraterritoriality. President Aliyev has said in other cases, in narrower environments, that this does not imply extraterritoriality. Yes, by calling it a corridor, as you know, we say transport corridors, referring to the various corridors that we have in Europe, which never imply extraterritoriality. So, obviously, from our point of view, it is quite logical that any road, any railway that passes through the territory of Armenia is controlled by Armenia. Or any road or railway that passes through the territory of Azerbaijan or passes, I don't know, through the territory of Germany, is controlled by the given country. Therefore, it is absolutely the only logical arrangement. For example, in this case, Azerbaijan wants to have a guarantee that the citizens of Azerbaijan and cargo passing through the territory of Armenia will be safe. It is completely logical and normal. But how it will be done is the responsibility of the Armenian authorities.

I think that the vision of Prime Minister Pashinyan regarding the road and railway connections uniting the countries is something that we completely share. We absolutely share the vision of an open South Caucasus, where rail and road connections are open and countries are reunified as they were at the end of the Soviet Union era and even more. Road and rail connections to Turkey and, of course, Iran, which is already the case, should also be open. This is how we see the future, absolutely, our vision of a peaceful South Caucasus is that these transportation links are open again, and there is trade, there are people traveling across borders.

“Since you mentioned the demand of the President of Azerbaijan that the passage of citizens of Azerbaijan through this corridor should be very safe, here I want to ask a question that concerns Armenians forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh. What is your approach to the right of these people to return to their homes? But let me draw attention to one point. The Lachin Corridor was closed and Armenians had no chance to cross safely, many of them are arrested on false charges. Azerbaijani forces could not guarantee the safety of those Armenians. Thus, Azerbaijan is demanding things that it has not done.

“I think you bring up many different issues, but I would focus on the possibility of the return of the residents of Nagorno Karabakh. We definitely believe that this is a very important thing, that first of all their right to return is guaranteed. And secondly, that conditions are created that provide a sufficient sense of safety and security for them to want to return. We have made it very clear from an EU perspective that all displaced persons must be able to return safely and securely to their former places of residence if they wish to do so. And in that sense, this is an issue that we have raised on various platforms. We think this is a very important issue that needs to be resolved. But, of course, nobody can be forced to return if people don't want to. But if there are those who want to return, then maximum efforts should be made to provide them with conditions that will allow most of these people to make a decision to return”.

“Since you mentioned the demand of the President of Azerbaijan that the passage of citizens of Azerbaijan through this corridor should be very safe, here I want to ask a question that concerns the forcibly displaced Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh. What is your approach to the right of these people to return to their homes? But let me draw attention to one point. The Lachin Corridor was closed and Armenians had no chance to cross safely, many of them are arrested on false charges. Azerbaijani forces could not guarantee the safety of those Armenians. Thus, Azerbaijan is demanding things that it has not done”.

“I think you bring up many different issues, but I would focus on the possibility of the return of the residents of Nagorno Karabakh. We definitely believe that this is a very important thing, that first of all their right to return is guaranteed. And secondly, that conditions are created that provide a sufficient sense of safety and security for them to want to return. We have made it very clear from an EU perspective that all displaced persons must be able to return safely and securely to their former places of residence if they wish to do so. And in that sense, this is an issue that we have raised on various platforms. We think this is a very important issue that needs to be resolved. But, of course, nobody can be forced to return if people don't want to. But if there are those who want to return, then maximum efforts should be made to provide them with conditions that will allow most of these people to make a decision to return”.

“Since you talked about peace in the region... Azerbaijan continues its expansionist rhetoric and wants to reach a peace agreement only on its own terms. How do you imagine the peace agreement? What points should be included in it so that it is fair, balanced and ensures stability?”

“I think it is important that on the one hand you have a contract, you have a text, which may or may not be very comprehensive in its wording. Everything depends on how Armenia and Azerbaijan will ultimately decide and formulate the text of the agreement. Equally important is the implementation of the final peace agreement, the fulfillment of the conditions that come after it. And here, of course, we should talk about the opening of communications, talk about the demarcation of the border. For me, it is also very important to ensure the distance between the forces along the border, the real sense of security that will be given to the residents along the border, but also on a wider scale. And then, of course, you have all those issues like, you know, opening embassies, making sure direct air links are open, people being able to travel back and forth. Rhetoric, of course, will also be important for all interested parties. After more than 30 years of conflict, it is not only about the rhetoric of Azerbaijan, but also of Armenia. There were statements by different actors and in different contexts. The whole context must be changed in terms of providing a real feeling for the population of Armenia and Azerbaijan that, indeed, we are now in a different world, in a situation where the South Caucasus can really fulfill its role as a crossroads, a crossroads of peace, north-south and east- in the west directions. For me, this is at least as important as the signing of the text of the peace treaty, which, as I say, is important, but what follows it is at least as important, so that there is this real feeling of change in circumstances”.

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