The Armenian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday confirmed that a memorandum was signed between the defense ministries of Armenia and Russia in 2020, soon after the Artsakh War, handing over sections of the crucial Goris-Kapan highway in the Syunik Province to Azerbaijan.
In December 2020, Armenian forces withdrew from portions of the road, prompting protests by Syunik residents and others, among them Armenia’s Human Rights Defender’s office.
In September 2021, Azerbaijan seized control of the more than 13-mile stretch of the road, causing havoc and frustration since Azerbaijani forces were physically harassing Armenian passengers traveling along the road. Azerbaijan’s seizure of the road blocked traffic to Armenian travelers and Iranian cargo trucks, which had used the route for decades for trade with Armenia.
During that commotion, Russian border guards assumed control of the road.
As the crisis on the road worsened, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in October 2021, admitted to parliament that he personally ordered the withdrawal of troops in December 2020, claiming threats of an invasion of Syunik by Azerbaijan. By doing so, Pashinyan tacitly acknowledged knowing about the document.
When confirming the existence of the memorandum on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said the document was not at its disposal. A version of the document, which surfaced online two months after its signing, was deemed to be a fake by Armenian government officials at the time.
“We inform that a document of this nature was signed between the ministers of defense of the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation,” said the foreign ministry in response to an inquiry by Sputnik Armenia.
Armenia’s former foreign minister, Ara Ayvazyan, who was appointed to the post days after the end of the Artsakh War, told Azatutyun.am last month that the document was a kept secret from him and the foreign ministry.
The Armenian Defense Ministry in December 2020 said that the disputed Goris-Kapan road section would be controlled by Russian troops.
