YEREVAN, February 24. /ARKA/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan admitted in an interview with 1in.am that some problems have emerged for several communities in the southern province of Syunik after they have become border communities following the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh, but added that they are not insoluble.
‘This does not mean that we do not have problems, but I think that a system of guaranteeing the security of these communities is operating in Syunik,” Pashinyan said.
Pashinyan said also that “it is clear that the environment has changed, and in this regard there is a certain tension.”
“But I am sure that this tension will soften over time, especially given the fact that we intend to implement large-scale structural socio-economic programs in Syunik,” he stressed.
In his words, the task today is to create the most favorable environment around Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), ‘and this is a daily task we are working on.”
In response to a question about whether the process of unblocking communications in the region is connected with concerns around Syunik, Pashinyan said that, in general, any change in the environment leads to certain concerns and tension.
“As for the reopening of communications, I believe that a constructive and mutually beneficial solution is one of those factors that can bring long-term and stable peace to the region, as well as certain economic benefits, change the economic image and potential of Armenia and the region,” he said, adding that this in no way means that there are no problems that should be addressed.
The prime minister added that communications are the arteries that connect “us with the region, the region with us, and make the region important for us, and us for the region.”
After the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan signed a statement on the cessation of all hostilities in Artsakh on November 9, more than 190 settlements of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and adjacent seven regions came under the control of Azerbaijan.
As a result, the borders of the Syunik region in the south of Armenia (including the administrative center Kapan) turned out to be in close proximity to the borders of Azerbaijan, drawn during the Soviet era..