Urgent Discussion Convened in Parliament

An urgent working discussion is underway in Parliament initiated by the chairwoman of the Standing Committee on Human Rights Protection and Public Affairs, Taguhi Tovmasyan, regarding the establishment of Azerbaijani customs checkpoints along the Goris-Kapan road.

Members of the ‘Armenia’ and ‘I Have Honor’ factions are participating in the meeting. Taguhi Tovmasyan noted that representatives of the executive and members of the ruling ‘Civil Contract’ faction were invited to the discussion, but none of them attended.

“Customs checkpoints have been installed along the Goris-Kapan road, which means that from now on we must speak of the territory of the Republic of Armenia in the past tense, and we will not be able to utilize that territory. The Prime Minister emphasizes the need for cold reasoning and making decisions with a cool head, which is unacceptable,” she stated.

Taguhi Tovmasyan indicated that Nikol Pashinyan must clearly answer the following questions:
- On what basis have you declared that the Azerbaijani checkpoint is not located in the territory of the Republic of Armenia?
- Has demarcation and delimitation already been carried out? Only on this basis could you have made such a statement.
- On what legal grounds is it declared that the checkpoint is outside the territory of the Republic of Armenia? Based on which map?
- When changes to the state border are made, it is carried out in accordance with the amendments to the Republic of Armenia’s Law on the State Border. We have not made any changes to the law; therefore, this is legally problematic.
- How will free and safe movement of people and goods be ensured under Azerbaijani border and customs control conditions?

Taguhi Tovmasyan remarked that they expect clarifications on these questions from the government, but there has been no response so far. “We hope that a representative of the government, at the behest of the Prime Minister, will present himself in Parliament. If not, we must publicly convey our message, hoping that some format will be established soon, and we will have the opportunity to receive clarifications before the plenary sessions begin,” she concluded.