Yerevan and Baku will take measures for the simultaneous and parallel deployment of their border services after the delimitation of the border, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said
Yerevan. April 19th. INTERFAX - For the first time, there will be a demarcated state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in a section of four villages in the Tavush region in northeastern Armenia, the office of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.
Following the results of the meeting held on Friday, the Commissions of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the delimitation of the state border issued a joint press release stating that the delimitation of borders in the sections of the Armenian village of Baganis, Azerbaijani Baganis Ayrum, Armenian Voskepar, Azerbaijani Ashagy-Askipar, Armenian Kirants, Azerbaijani Heimli, Armenian Berkaber, Azerbaijani Kyzyl-Gadgets.
"This means that two commissions have reproduced on the map the borders that existed between the above-mentioned villages during the Soviet Union, and at the next stage these borders should be clarified and reflected also on the ground, and this will be an unprecedented event: for the first time between our countries there will be a demarcated state border on the site of these four villages," - Pashinyan's office told the Armenian state news agency "Armenpress".
It is noted that the cartographic basis of the process is the latest topographic maps of the USSR, which have a legal basis and are compiled by competent authorities.
"An important nuance is that, according to the statement of the commissions, the borders that existed at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union and have a legal basis are being restored, that is, those borders that de jure existed between Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan," Pashinyan's office said.
They noted that "it is also important to emphasize that the commissions agreed that during the entire process of delimiting the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, they will be based on the Alma Ata Declaration of 1991, and this is fixed as a fundamental principle of the border delimitation process."
Pashinyan's office refuted the opinion that if in the future a different fundamental principle is fixed in the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, different from the Alma-Ata Declaration, and the border delimitation regulations are brought into line with this principle, this will create a basis for rejecting the Alma-Ata Declaration.
It is also noted that the commissions agreed that after the approval of the regulations, they will agree on the procedure for the delimitation of the remaining sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border and in this context will also address the issue of enclaves/exclaves.
"You know that the Republic of Armenia cannot give up this problem, since Artsvashen is part of the sovereign territory of our country. We are going to de jure substantiate the existence of the exclave/enclave of Artsvashen in the process of delimitation (...) What kind of political solution will be given to the problem after stating this fact is another matter," Pashinyan's office said.
It is also noted that after the delimitation of the border, the armed forces will be withdrawn in the area of four villages and will give way to border troops.
"This will happen in a short but reasonable time, without artificial delays," the office said.
They noted that no Armenian village will lose roads as a result of this process.
When asked how the security of the villages of Kirants and Voskepar will be ensured, the Prime minister's office said that Azerbaijan is still very close to these villages and they are under direct fire.
"Yes, as a result of this process, the border service of Azerbaijan will get even closer to the villages of Kirants and Voskepar, but their villages and ours will be separated by a demarcated state border. This is a key factor and let's not forget that the border guards of the Republic of Armenia will carry out border protection. In addition, there are many security details that will also be discussed and detailed in the near future," the office noted.
To the remark that according to the described process, Azerbaijan receives four villages, and what Armenia receives, the Prime Minister's office replied: "For accuracy, we will record that Azerbaijan receives two and a half villages belonging to it, because the entire territory of the village of Kyzyl-Hajili, a significant part of the territory of the village of Ashagi-Askipara was under the control of Azerbaijan before that. And in this process, the Republic of Armenia receives a reduction in the risks associated with border delimitation and security."
Following the meeting of the commissions of the two countries, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said that Yerevan and Baku will take measures for the simultaneous and parallel deployment of their border services on the agreed segments of the border line.
During the meeting of the commission, the parties preliminarily agreed on the passage of individual segments of the border line and "decided that the description of these segments of the border line will be compiled taking into account the clarification of coordinates based on geodetic measurements on the ground, which will be formalized by an appropriate protocol description, which must be agreed and signed by the Parties by May 15, 2024," reports the Foreign Ministry.
"It was also agreed that until the delimitation process is fully completed, the segments of the border line specified in the protocol description will be considered delimited," the message says.
They added that the participants of the meeting agreed in parallel to finalize the work on the coordination of the draft regulations of the joint activities of the commissions of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the delimitation of the state border and border security between the two countries by July 1, 2024 and to begin the process of domestic approvals and approval of the regulations in accordance with the procedure and in accordance with the requirements of the legislations of the states of the parties.
The meeting chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Mher Grigoryan and Shahin Mustafayev, took place on the border of the two countries on Friday.