Analyst rejects Pashinyan's comments on delegated transit route as misleading

Political analyst Armen Minasyan has strongly criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent remarks comparing a delegated transit route via Armenia's Syunik Province to existing outsourced infrastructure management agreements involving the South Caucasus Railway, Zvartnots International Airport and national water utilities.

In an interview to Panorama.am on Monday, Minasyan dismissed the analogy as “utter nonsense”, arguing it dangerously misrepresents the nature of the proposed arrangement.

The debate centers on a potential agreement allowing Azerbaijan to use a road through southern Armenia to connect with Nakhichevan. While Pashinyan insists the route would remain under Armenia’s sovereignty and jurisdiction, Minasyan warned that the proposed model amounts to relinquishing control entirely.

“When you order goods online and they arrive via Zvartnots, Armenia’s customs and regulatory bodies are still involved,” he said. “But in this case, delegated transit means Armenia would have no control whatsoever over who or what crosses its territory. There would be no inspections, no oversight, nothing. This would effectively strip Armenia of sovereignty over the route.”

Minasyan also reacted to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent comments claiming a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan may be imminent.

“There are no miracles here,” Minasyan noted. “Trump has long desired a peace deal he could call his own. He doesn’t even hide his childhood dream of winning the Nobel Peace Prize. He even gets upset that he hasn’t won the award yet. So, it’s not just in the South Caucasus that he expects miracles, but everywhere."

While acknowledging that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has confirmed progress toward a preliminary peace agreement, Minasyan pointed out that Baku’s two key preconditions, including constitutional changes in Armenia, remain unchanged.

“The constitutional changes cannot be addressed overnight,” he said, stating Aliyev is proceeding with strategic caution, in contrast to the optimistic narratives presented by Trump and Pashinyan.

Addressing Pashinyan’s claims that delegated transit would serve Armenia’s national interests and preserve its territorial integrity, Minasyan said “Sovereignty is not a statement. It's about the ability to exercise authority. If Armenian law enforcement can’t stop a truck possibly carrying narcotic drugs from Zangilan to Nakhichevan, then what kind of sovereignty is that?”

Minasyan concluded by warning that while the Armenian government seeks to portray the deal as a diplomatic success, its actual terms outlined by Azerbaijani and U.S. officials paint a very different picture.