No Border Demarcation Between Armenia and Azerbaijan; President Discusses Issue with Tatoyan

President of the Republic Armen Sarkissian met today with Armenia's Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan. The President and the Human Rights Defender discussed the ongoing efforts regarding the return of captives and the discovery of missing persons.

During the meeting, the Human Rights Defender presented his concept for creating a demilitarized security zone aimed at ensuring the rights of residents in Syunik. Arman Tatoyan emphasized that the processes related to the borders are taking place in the context of an open threat of war from Azerbaijan and the state policy of anti-Armenianism by the Azerbaijani high authorities.

Additionally, personnel of the Azerbaijani armed forces are firing shots in immediate proximity to villages in the Syunik region of Armenia, which seriously jeopardizes the right to life of residents and their physical safety. From the perspective of residents' rights, provocations and unrest have been caused by the presence of Azerbaijani soldiers, signs, and flags on roads between communities in Syunik. There are also gross violations of property rights.

President Sarkissian emphasized that no official border demarcation or delimitation has been carried out between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which means that the process of determining state borders is legally uncertain at this time. This is further compounded by the violations of the rights of Armenian citizens in Syunik or serious threats to them.