This corridor rhetoric was brought forward by the Azerbaijani president. He acknowledged that in his annual conference, saying that of course there was no mention in the November 9, 2020 statement about Nakhchivan, the corridor connecting Nakhchivan.
This is something he is bringing forward for the discussions. He is going to pressure Armenia to give him that extraterritorial corridor that will connect western parts of Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan.
Armenia made it very clear right from the beginning, when this issue started to be discussed, that we ruled out any extraterritorial corridor on the territory of the Republic of Armenia. This is the principal position of Armenia. Nothing can change this position. I want to make sure you understand that our position is fully in line with the relevant provisions of the November 9 statement.
The decision on providing a link between the western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan can be resolved very swiftly. That's why we're on a track where we're discussing the unblocking of all the regional transport routes. We can do it very swiftly, as soon as Azerbaijan admits that all communications should operate under the jurisdiction and legislation of the Republic of Armenia.
I just have one more point, since I have this time to talk about the Nakhchivan corridor. I want to make sure to show you the differences between the Lachin corridor and the connection between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan.
First of all, Nakhchivan and Nagorno-Karabakh have different needs that exist in very different realities. They don't face the same threats. Nakhchivan, first of all, cannot be blocked by Armenia. Nakhchivan has neighbours, Iran and Turkey. It doesn't face the existential threat coming from Armenia on a daily basis. The Nagorno-Karabakh people do face threats, because Nagorno-Karabakh is surrounded only by Azerbaijan. It's a matter of seconds to blockade it wherever Azerbaijan wants.
Another very important point is that Nakhchivan has a status with being Azerbaijan. It is an autonomous republic through the Treaty of Kars of 1921. Now what Azerbaijan is doing is refusing to accept the status that Nagorno-Karabakh had during the Soviet Union era.... It was the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region.
These are the differences that I wanted to talk about between Nagorno-Karabakh's case and of course Nakhchivan.
Thank you.