Friday, August 26 2022 17:25

ArmInfo.As of today, there are more questions than answers about the corridors to be opened in the South Caucasus. But I really hope that with the support and participation  of Russia, these issues will be resolved soon or maybe not so soon.  Viktor Nadein-Raevsky, Researcher of the Institute of World Economy  and  International Relations (IMEMO), said in an interview with  ArmInfo. 

"For example, the area around the Lachin corridor, no doubt, needs  protection: mountainous terrain, serpentine - there is not just a  narrow section of the road, there is a section of territory that  someone should protect, especially after the arrival of the  Azerbaijani population there. Otherwise clashes are inevitable.  And  I do not at all think that control over the territory of the Lachin  corridor should be carried out exclusively by Azerbaijan," he  stressed.

In this light, returning to the history of the conflict, the  Turkologist recalled that the territory of Nagorno- Karabakh  inhabited by Armenians was once included by the Bolshevik government  of the RSFSR to Azerbaijan. At the same time, he noted that the  region of Lachin, which at that time also belonged to the Azerbaijan  SSR, was mainly inhabited by Kurds. And this time the Armenian side  is the one who raises questions about the fact that the latter was  forced to leave it in the 1990s.

According to the Russian expert, one way or another, there is no  mention of ownership of Karabakh and Lachin in the tripartite  statement of November 9, 2020. As well as there is no mention of  Baku's control over movements and passage in the Lachin corridor  Thus, according to Nadein-Raevsky, even the agreement of the  conflicting parties to move still leaves open the question of  ensuring its security.

"In general, the activation of transport corridors seems to be a very  real step towards the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani  relations. But even here the question arises of the need to ensure  their safe functioning. For example, it is not clear who will ensure  the safety of the passage of Armenian passengers passing through  Nakhichevan or Baku. History shows that, unfortunately, Baku is not  able to do this on its own, while the security of the road from  Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan will be provided by Russian border troops,"  the expert summed up.