The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan in response to Armenpress question regarding whether Baku has clarified the borders it recognizes as Armenia’s sovereign territory, and when Azerbaijan plans to withdraw their troops from the occupied areas of Armenia, cited Paragraph 5 of the Trilateral Declaration signed in Washington on August 8.
“We acknowledge the need to chart a course for a bright future not bound by the conflict of the past, consistent with the Charter of the United Nations and the 1991 Almaty Declaration. The conditions have been created for our nations to finally embark on building good neighborly relations on the basis of the inviolability of international borders and the inadmissibility of the use of force for the acquisition of territory after the conflict that brought immense human suffering. This reality, which is not and should never be subject to revision, paves the way for closing the chapter of enmity between our two nations. We resolutely reject and exclude any attempt of revenge, now and in the future.’’
He recalled the 1991 Almaty Declaration, which means the territory of Soviet Armenia is identical with the territory of the Republic of Armenia, and the territory of Soviet Azerbaijan with the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
According to the Prime Minister, the solution to the issue is the continuation of the delimitation process.
“There is also a second option - a referendum, which, however, complicates the process even more.”
“There are territories that, logically, belong to Armenia, but are under the control of Azerbaijan. And there are territories that, logically, belong to Azerbaijan, but are under the control of Armenia. The delimitation process must continue and the territories that are under our control but do not belong to us, must be returned to Azerbaijan, and the territories Azerbaijan controls but does not belong to it, must be returned to us.”
"Or, again, based on the principle of equivalence, for example, through a referendum, the exchange of certain territories should be carried out with the logic that 29 thousand 743 square kilometers of Armenia remain untouched, the same applies to the territory of Azerbaijan. The exact dimensions of the territories must be restored. But in the second case, a referendum would be required which greatly complicates the process," said Pashinyan, expressing hope that the situation will not reach that stage.
