The trilateral declaration signed in Washington on August 8 raises more questions than it provides answers, according to Aram Manukyan, deputy chairman of the Armenian National Congress party.
“This document will not lead to peace because there are too many obstacles and risks within it,” Manukyan stated.
He is convinced that all talk about opening communications and securing EU and US funding is a bluff. There is currently no primary document specifying the parameters and functionality of the “Trump route,” and it is unlikely to materialize, Manukyan noted, emphasizing that there are numerous obstacles to its implementation.
“Claims that control will be conducted remotely via scanners don’t hold up to scrutiny. It’s just manipulation. Human presence at the border is a mandatory condition; it cannot be done without human involvement. And who will carry out this control remains unclear. In other words, the risks and contradictions are inherent from the start,” he added.
The deputy chairman of the ANC further noted that the solution being presented today is a corridor, not a road, and the issue extends beyond customs checks.
“Will we have the opportunity to use this road? Is this opportunity spelled out anywhere? No. And if we don’t use this road, it’s a corridor. If we aren’t using it, to what extent can it be considered our territory?” the opposition figure questioned.
He also pointed out that the issue of providing Armenia with the opportunity to use the route through Nakhichevan’s territory is no longer even being discussed; it’s absent from the agenda.
This road was supposed to become a kind of transport hub, Manukyan noted, agreeing with the stance of Armenia’s first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan.
“The groundwork for this was already laid with the start of the North-South highway construction. That highway was supposed to be completed in 2015. Now, if the West-East highway were to become operational, Armenia would have turned into a transport hub, a center. In that case, our politics would have been more balanced, and the economic benefits would have been tangible,” Manukyan stated.