Pashinyan’s game with the railways could lead to a new war: Marat Bashirov

Marat Bashirov, political analyst, commented to Alpha News on the statement by Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia, who proposed that Russia sell the right to manage the republic’s railways to a third party.
According to the expert, terminating the current agreements could lead to lengthy court proceedings and serious financial consequences for Armenia.

“What could happen? Of course, he could terminate this agreement, there will be lawsuits. Without a doubt, Russian Railways (RZD) will demand compensation for the funds that were invested. And then there will be a big question, because Armenia’s budget is not able to maintain the current state of Armenia’s railways. Setting aside freight transport, this will hit passenger transport first of all,” said Bashirov.

The political analyst also linked what is happening to attempts at external influence on transport projects in the region.

“There is an element of US interference. We remember that first American emissaries unexpectedly appeared, then European representatives flew in. This is an attempt to persuade Armenia to hinder the development of the multimodal transport corridors project. Ultimately, if Yerevan continues to behave this way, the western branch of this corridor simply won’t work. Goods will bypass Armenia, the Republic will not receive revenue from transport, and the main flows will be directed through the Caspian and other routes,” the expert noted.

In Bashirov’s opinion, the most dangerous consequence of such steps could be rising tension in the region.

“The scariest thing about this situation is that all of this could create the preconditions for a new conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Azerbaijan has long shown interest in this section of the railway. Pashinyan is playing with very serious risks. This is not just playing with fire, it’s a game that could lead to a new war. And if such a scenario materializes, neither the US nor Europe, as practice shows, will come to Armenia’s aid,” Bashirov concluded.