In 2022, Armenia’s international partners stated that Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity must be recognized, while the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh would be ensured through international mechanisms.

Today, we are being urged to outsource the Syunik road. They suggest avoiding the term “corridor,” instead referring to it as an outsourced Armenian road—yet the control, allegedly, would be exercised by an American company, something Azerbaijan opposes.

Just as the proposed international mechanisms failed to protect the rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh’s people—resulting instead in ethnic cleansing and displacement—the same risk applies now. If we accept this proposal, there will be no real outsourcing: Azerbaijan will simply obtain the long-desired corridor through Syunik, and we will have no control over it.

Therefore, the narrative we must advance is this: the obligation to provide an “unobstructed road” arose solely within the context of Nagorno-Karabakh’s continued existence. If Nagorno-Karabakh no longer exists under the provisions of the November 9 trilateral statement, then no such obligation remains.

Do you understand? There is no such separate obligation to provide an “unobstructed” or “unhindered road,” no obligation to grant a “corridor” or an “outsourced road” if Nagorno-Karabakh no longer exists.

Thus, Armenia has no standalone obligation to provide a specific road. As for unblocking regional communications, all roads must be opened equally.