Debate erupts over Armenia’s roads and Baku’s territorial claims

PanARMENIAN.Net - During a hearing on road safety in Armenia, public and political figure Edgar Ghazaryan directly confronted Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Kristine Ghalechyan, demanding statistics on how many kilometers of roads of what significance have been handed over to the enemy since 2020 under the current administration.

Ghazaryan also reminded that since August 2024, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has been repeatedly stating that, according to the current Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 60–70% of Armenia’s present territory is considered Azerbaijani, Panorama.am reported.

He questioned whether the ministry takes these statements into account when implementing road construction programs.

“So, are you building roads to hand over to Azerbaijan or to serve our citizens?” Ghazaryan asked.

Ghalechyan responded that the ministry implements projects based on a government-approved list of roads.

“We carry out projects based on the list of roads defined by the government's decision, and the roads included in that list are part of the road network. I have no further comment,” she stated.

Ghazaryan then clarified whether the Yerevan-Meghri interstate highway is included in that list and asked whether the Deputy Minister could safely travel the Goris-Kapan section after the hearings.

In response, Ghalechyan said she would use the road from Tatev to Agarak.

Member of Parliament from the Civil Contract party, Andranik Kocharyan, also weighed in on the topic, stating: “The list of roads does not mention the massive work of defense and security nature done on inter-positional roads, which, in terms of quality, are comparable to our interstate highways. They span hundreds of kilometers.”

He assured that roads built for security purposes will continue to serve that goal in the future.

“But today, they are structures that exclusively serve security needs, and the fact that they are built also to strengthen the defense and security of our country is undeniable,” Kocharyan said.