Alternative roads in the southern Armenian province of Syunik set to replace the ones passing through territories controlled by Azerbaijan will be ready in spring 2022, Deputy Prime Minister Suren Papikyan said Monday, October 25.

According to him, however, the main road connecting Armenia to Iran will be ready by the end of November.

The main road connecting the cities of Goris and Kapan in the region in some cases runs across territory which Baku gained control of as a result of the 44-day war in fall 2020. Azerbaijan has already set up border guard posts and police checkpoints, has at least once blocked a 21-kilometer section of it for nearly 48 hours and is now collecting taxes from Iranian trucks delivering goods to Armenia.

Papikan said in a Facebook post on Monday that a completely new road communication system is now being built in the region. Together with the Chief of the Prime Minister's Staff Arayik Harutyunyan and Syunik Governor Melikset Poghosyan, he visited the region to learn more about roadworks.