Pashinyan: no agreement on maps between Armenia and Azerbaijan for border delimitation

YEREVAN, March 20. /ARKA/. There is no agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on maps to be used for delimitation and demarcation of their common border, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said today.

Speaking at a government question-and-answer session in parliament, Pashinyan said Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to recognize each other's territorial integrity on the basis of the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration.

According to him, there is an understanding that there should be a delimitation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, also based on the Alma-Ata Declaration.

Pashinyan specified that it is not about creating a new border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but about recognizing on the ground the last de jure borders of the USSR before its disintegration.

On Monday Pashinyan travlled to Tavush province to meet with residents of Voskepar and Kirants villages, which are adjacent to four abandoned Azerbaijani settlements that have been controlled by the Armenian army since 1991-1992. Last week, he said he was ready to accept Baku's demands for the unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from these settlements.

In a video released by his office, Pashinyan essentially reiterated that in exchange for Armenian withdrawal, Azerbaijan would not vacate any Armenian territory it occupied in the same area in the early 1990s.

"Our policy is that we must not allow war to break out," Pashinyan told the villagers. "This is also the reason why we decided to adjust Armenia's border in this section," Pashinyan said.

Nikol Pashinyan said also that his government is ready to start delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the following sections:  

- Baganis village on the Armenian side, Baganis-Ayrum village on the Azerbaijani side;

- Voskepar village on the Armenian side, Ashaghi-Askipara village on the Azerbaijani side;

- Kirants village on the Armenian side, Kheirimli village on the Azerbaijani side;

- Berkaber village on the Armenian side, Kyzyl-Khajili village on the Azerbaijani side;

The Prime Minister also noted that the delimitation will not affect the villages, but the sections of the border in front of them.  0-