Armenian Authorities Not Going to Even Discuss Surrender of Any Territories – Parliament Speaker

YEREVAN (Arka) — Armenian authorities are not going to even discuss the surrender of any territories (to Azerbaijan), Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan said in an interview with the Public Television of Armenia, commenting on the situation with villages in Tavush region of the country.

“First, in Armenia, it is forbidden by law to surrender anything to anyone. Second, Armenian authorities are not going to even discuss such a thing about any territory of the country,” he said.

He described talk about surrendering villages in Tavush, particularly Voskepar village, to Azerbaijan “despicable speculations” and noted that these are the territories where the Armenian side is ready for starting the border delimitation process with Azerbaijan.

“What is ours will remain ours, what is theirs will remain theirs,” he said, adding that the Armenian side is waiting for Baku’s response.

According to Simonyan, there is no gas pipeline branch in this border area, but there is a section of the road that runs from Armenia to Georgia.

“When it comes to the question of what to do with the road section, our position is that we can build our road for several kilometers to circumvent that section. We will do it in the most convenient way for us,” he said.

Asked whether this is being done under threat, Simonyan said that “we are doing it because we need it.”

At the same time, he said Azerbaijan should recognize Armenia’s border in the delimitation process “because by doing so it recognizes its border.”

According to Simonyan, delimitation commissions hold discussions, issues are raised on both sides, “the logic was, is and will remain mirror-like, nothing is discussed unilaterally.”

“The working process can be called positive, the matter is moving forward, there is mutual understanding”

Responding to public concerns that if the territories in Tavush are ceded under the threat of war, a similar process may start in Syunik and other places, up to Yerevan, Simonyan said, “we are not going to cede anything that is ours to avoid war.”

“If we are threatened to surrender this settlement or this mountain which are on the Armenian territory because otherwise there will be war, of course, then we will fight. And there can be no second opinion. Armenia cannot give up anything that belongs to it,” he summarized