A meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council was held in Malta. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan was engaged in promoting Pashinyan's "Crossroads of the World" during the event. Mirzoyan promoted the stillborn project in meetings with colleagues from other countries, demonstrating its alleged advantages from all sides. The "Crossroads of the World" is included in the list of mandatory topics for officials to raise whenever possible. On the sidelines of the event, Mirzoyan campaigned for Pashinyan's project with colleagues from the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and others who were willing to listen to him.

While the Armenian Foreign Minister is promoting Nikol Pashinyan's rainbow fantasies, Armenia remains isolated in the colorless reality, dependent on the vagaries of the climate and the lack of internal resources. This reality intrudes especially rudely into the grandiose plans of Yerevan with the onset of winter. The Georgian Upper Lars was covered with snow, and 1,200 Armenian trucks were stuck at the Georgian-Russian border. Armenia has no other ways to maintain economic ties with its main trading partner, Russia, which has been the key factor in the Armenian economy's growth. Armenia lacks reliable and efficient transport corridors in any direction, and it won't have any unless the borders are opened. It is unclear what Yerevan hopes to achieve by advertising its "crossroads." Perhaps it expects to charm its partners, dazzling them with the brilliance of far-fetched prospects, hoping for some change.

Having no clear project, no specific calculations, and no resolved issues related to the implementation of the "Crossroads," Armenia is already holding forums and conferences, showing maps on the wall with routes marked in marker. It is immediately obvious that Yerevan has no experience in implementing international projects. The most important condition for such projects is that they must be realistic and based on the real situation in and around the country. In Armenia’s case, these are closed borders, a lack of financial and human resources to implement such projects, and zero authority for the country and its leadership. To hold forums about becoming a transit hub, Armenia must have some foundation to demonstrate that it is capable of tackling such tasks. This is a country that, without outside help, has not been able to build a single highway for twenty years. What kind of "crossroads" is there to speak of? By advertising the project, Pashinyan seeks not so much to attract investors (which is problematic) as to find supporters who will pressure Baku to open communications for Armenians. This goal is pursued by the prime minister and his team, describing on international platforms how regional transit will improve when the "Crossroads of the World" is implemented, how both the West and the East have missed this opportunity, and how much benefit they will receive from it.

For internal use, another version has been prepared, no less incredible, which was recently voiced by Nikol Pashinyan.

Speaking at a forum in October, he announced that the project could bring tens of billions of dollars to Armenia. And this is why Azerbaijan is so jealous and tries so hard to prevent its implementation. According to him, we should be afraid that Armenia will get rich and use its billions against us. If we have aggressive plans against peaceful Armenians, the "Crossroads of the World" will help Yerevan foil these insidious plans. Nikol Pashinyan tried to explain to Armenian society and his audience why the "Crossroads of the World" was so important for the government, despite Armenia having many other, more real problems. Armenians should close their eyes and imagine the "huge economic flows" promised by Pashinyan passing through their country. The fact that there is nothing behind these words is no longer the concern of ordinary Armenians.

Meanwhile, dreams of a crossroads could take tangible shape if Armenia thought for itself and not according to others' ideas. It is no coincidence that some in the country believe the "Crossroads of the World" is an externally imposed project. Although Pashinyan denies everything, claiming that Armenia needs the project like air, this version has a basis. Armenia lacks the facilities and infrastructure for international transit. All of this would need to be created from scratch. The projects would cost astronomical sums, as the terrain would require the construction of complex engineering structures, including dozens of tunnels and bridges. None of Armenia's current partners will finance this. Recall that Russia, which used to act as Armenia's protector, once refused to finance the Armenia-Iran railway, calling it a dead-end project.

The "Crossroads of the World" is impossible. But its specter serves the interests of those who want to take control of the region and interfere with established and emerging transit corridors tied to China. In other words, Armenia is being used once again. There will be no "Crossroads," and Pashinyan knows this better than anyone. Revenues would flow to Armenia if the Zangezur corridor were restored, but political will and independence are required to make such a decision. Nikol Pashinyan has neither.

Armenians also prevented the construction of the road through Zangezur during Soviet times. The issue was delayed for many years, and the road was only put into operation shortly before the deportation of Azerbaijanis from Armenia began. Yerevan resisted with all its might, inventing reasons, and frustrating the decisions of the Council of Ministers and the State Planning Committee of the USSR. Armenians are known for their ability to concoct stories. To justify their refusal, they claimed that subtropical crops could be grown in the area, which would yield 50 million rubles. They later invented a story about mineral deposits along the planned route. Finally, Yerevan stated that villages for "repatriates" would be built in Zangezur, and there simply was no room for a railway. A little more, and the Armenian side would have announced that it had discovered oil in Zangezur, rather than opening direct access to Azerbaijan's autonomy.

Decades have passed. No bananas, no oil, no villages for "repatriates." But the fantasies continue. And all of this is happening over the heads of the people.