PM Niko Pashinyan: If Border Delimitation Process is Stopped, War Will Break Out

YEREVN — The Armenian government has initiated the process of delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border from the Tavush region, with the aim of preventing war, the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a press conference held on May 7.

“The escalations of 2021, 2022 have raised questions among the international community. Regrettably, I must note that they were explained in many cases on the international platforms by the factor of the four Azerbaijani villages.

Unfortunately, in those situations where we should have been in the role of the claimant, we found ourselves in the role of the defendant. A question was raised: ‘If you mutually recognize territorial integrity, then what is the problem that you do not solve the issue of those villages?”, stated Pashinyan.

According to him, the delimitation issue will be discussed by Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers when they meet for talks in Kazakhstan’s Almaty on May 10.

“The delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is based on the most recent Soviet Union maps that have legal force, which is very important. We do not want to limit ourselves to listing any particular map, because what is important for us is the legal framework aimed at ensuring full delimitation along the entire perimeter of Armenia’s border, and in doing so we are also acting in practical terms. We have not deviated from our earlier statements and now we are acting based on this rationale,” Pashinyan noted.

He said that the maps used are those that reflect the borders between Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Asked about the installation of border pillars, Pashinyan noted that they are installed on a legal basis and become a security guarantee for the villages of Voskepar, Kirants, Berkaber, Baganis and, in general, the whole of Armenia.

“We are now conducting delimitation and its goal is to form security guarantees. And the border pillars are the pillars of security guarantees, and it is very important to fix this,” Pashinyan said.

“Our goal is not to make an analysis whether there will be war or not, but to make sure that war is excluded. And we are on this path, and our goal is to make war senseless, illogical, illegitimate and impracticable ” Pashinyan noted.

The Prime Minister said also that the most part – about 90% of the work on the installation of the pillars in a section of the border in Tavush region has been done, and as far as this work is progressing, the confidence that Armenia’s security guarantees are being formed within the framework of its sovereign decision is growing.

Referring to the demand put forward by the members of the “Tavush for the Motherland” movement to halt the border delimitation process, Pashinyan stated: “If we halt the process, what will happen afterward? A very simple thing: war will begin.

The forces demanding a halt to the border delimitation process, supported by some foreign forces, will do everything so that new territories of Armenia will be occupied. And they will leverage it to make political changes within Armenia,” said the PM.

According to the Prime Minister of Armenia, war is deemed necessary by various internal and external forces to effect a change of power in Armenia without elections.

Addressing the question of whether the 1988 delimitation map serves as the basis for the delimitation process, which opposition parties have raised multiple times, Pashinyan mentioned that although they have reviewed that document, it has not managed to enter into force and obtain legal force.