MP Arthur Khachatryan from the Hayastan parliamentary faction criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent remarks on outsourcing control over a southern Armenian corridor, calling the reference to Veolia a “sham.”
In a Facebook post, Khachatryan emphasized that when a service is outsourced to a third party, compensation is always involved. “For instance, when a company outsources its accounting instead of employing an in-house accountant, it pays the accounting firm. Why would anyone manage your accounting for free? This is how accounting firms make money. They don’t do it for your pretty eyes,” he wrote.
He noted that states, unlike private entities, can also outsource services not just by paying for them, but by granting the right to collect fees in return. “For example, a state may hand over the management of its tunnels to a private firm under the condition that the firm maintains and services them.”
Khachatryan then questioned why an international organization would patrol a sensitive, conflict-prone road traversing Armenia’s southern border. “Is Armenia going to pay a foreign private firm to ensure the unobstructed passage of Azerbaijanis and Turks through Armenian territory? Or will that firm sit at the entrance of the road selling tickets and collecting tolls? Let them charge Turks and Azerbaijanis—no problem—but imagine what they’d charge a single Armenian trying to access those roads. They’d skin them for every last dram—if our country hasn’t already adopted the manat or lira by then,” he added.
He firmly rejected the Veolia analogy, stating: “Armenia leased out infrastructure so the French could make money. That’s it. Just like someone renting out their shop for another to run a business in it.”
Khachatryan concluded by urging officials not to frame the loss of sovereignty as a simple commercial deal. “Managing that road is not a commercial matter. This logic is primitive and disgusting.”
During a recent press conference, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed regional connectivity and possible delegation of control over certain routes, stating that multiple scenarios were being considered in talks with Azerbaijan. However, he noted there was no agreement or signed document yet. Pashinyan added that Armenia has several outsourcing examples today—some successful, others less so.
