New road from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia requires border demarcation

To build a new road across the Lachin Corridor to ensure communication of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, a preliminary border demarcation is needed, which will depend not so much on maps as on the actions of topographic groups on the ground, the geographers interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe. The delimitation in the Shushi area will be most painful, they have noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Russian peacemakers, following the concluded tripartite agreement on ceasefire in the conflict zone, have taken control over the Lachin corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia, by setting up temporary posts there. On November 12, the peacemaking battalion of the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) took control of Stepanakert; 10 observation posts were set up along the contact line.

A new road between Armenia and Karabakh should be built with account of local topography, said Professor Alexei Gunya from the Tourism Division of the Saint Tikhon Orthodox Religious University.

He believes that to start construction, it is necessary first to demarcate the border.

"If there is no political pressure, it will pass calmly. If not, then there may be fierce disputes. But if they do, then, most likely, about the space between Shushi and Stepanakert – a battle will be there for every meter. In the rest of Karabakh the population was decreasing even before the war; there will be no problems with demarcation there," Professor Gunya told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

To build a road bypassing Shushi, demarcation of the border will be required, Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst and geographer, also believes.

"This will be field work. Politicians agree on delimitation, but a bilateral (maybe trilateral) group of military topographers is being formed on the ground for this, which, under the protection of peacemakers, will mark the border on the ground," he told the "Caucasian Knot".

Mr Oreshkin agreed with Professor Gunya that the demarcation in the Shushi vicinity will be the most painful. "It is clear that for Armenians any border that goes around Shushi will be unpleasant, while Azerbaijanis will fight to preserve it, especially since it is important for them at a symbolic level," he has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 14, 2020 at 04:18 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.