Nakhichevan becomes a transport priority for Armenia amid loss of road from Vardenis

The peace agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh will make it possible to open the road between Yerevan and Syunik, as well as to resume transport communications with Iran through Nakhichevan, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced. The road between Karvachar (Kelbajar) and Vardenis will be closed on November 15. At present, it is full of cars in which local residents are leaving Karabakh.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 10, an agreement between Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia on the cessation of the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh came into force. According to the reached agreement, the Russian peacemakers are deployed along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the corridor connecting it with Armenia.

According to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the uninterrupted communication between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia along the Lachi corridor (the Armenian name of the city of Lachi is Berdzor, – note of the "Caucasian Knot") will be provided by Russian peacekeepers.

The Prime Minister of Armenia has also noted that Armenia will resume some transport communications. "Roads from Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan are being opened, and, at the same time, the road from Yerevan to the Syunik Region through Nakhichevan is also unblocked," Nikol Pashinyan said. He has also added that the railway communication between Armenia and Iran through Nakhichevan should also be resumed. According to the Armenian Prime Minister, the resumption of communications will be essential for the economy of Armenia.

Residents of the Karvachar District (the Azerbaijani name of the city of Karvachar is Kelbajar, – note of the "Caucasian Knot") are massively leaving for Armenia and are setting their houses on fire, the BBC Russian Service reports on Twitter. A video of a burning house was posted on the social network.

Cars and trucks on the way from Karvachar are loaded with refrigerators and wardrobes. Moreover, local residents also take their sheep and cows. "In the evening on Thursday (November 12), a huge queue of hundreds of cars lined up on the road from the Kelbajar District to the Armenian city of Vardenis," the BBC Russian Service reports.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 13, 2020 at 12:45 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.