Civilnet
By Elen Muradyan
The Armenian government has reiterated that while it remains open to outsourcing the business management of infrastructure projects, any transfer of territorial control or legal jurisdiction remains out of the question.
In a Facebook statement on Wednesday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan said, “The territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction of the Republic of Armenia, of course, cannot be delegated. The business management of railways, pipelines, and power lines can. In fact, the maintenance and administration of highways in Armenia has always been outsourced to private companies.”
The statement came one day after CivilNet published a report outlining conflicting remarks by senior officials on the U.S.-proposed leasing arrangement for a road through Armenia’s southern Syunik province. The proposal, publicly confirmed by U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack, reportedly included a 100-year lease of a 42-kilometer road (incorrectly cited by Barrack as 32 kilometers), to be administered by a neutral operator facilitating transit between mainland Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave.
While Armenia has repeatedly rejected any extraterritorial arrangement, Prime Minister Pashinyan has left open the possibility of third-party management under Armenian jurisdiction. He cited precedents such as the Zvartnots Airport and the South Caucasus Railway, which are managed by foreign companies but remain Armenian state property.
Baghdasaryan clarified that officials who deny the existence of negotiations are referring to models that violate constitutional constraints. Others, including the prime minister, who acknowledge discussions, are speaking within the context of legal frameworks such as construction rights, under which infrastructure remains sovereign Armenian territory.
However, critics argue that these legal nuances risk diluting Armenia’s red lines. Former foreign minister Vartan Oskanian has warned that “outsourcing a corridor” is tantamount to a territorial concession.
The debate has taken on fresh urgency following Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement that Azerbaijani cargo and citizens must be able to transit through Armenia without seeing Armenian border guards. Baghdasaryan dismissed such demands as incompatible with Armenia’s laws, emphasizing that the country “has never discussed and will not discuss” scenarios that remove Armenian oversight.
Despite continued controversy, Yerevan says it remains committed to reopening regional connectivity within its constitutional limits, under its “Crossroads of Peace” initiative. Whether that framework can accommodate the demands of all stakeholders, particularly Azerbaijan, remains an open question.
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