If the enclaves are conceded, Azerbaijan will take control of the Armenian-Georgian road in Tavush, Vigen Hakobyan says

There is a general understanding between the authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan that the processes of demarcation and delimitation should take place. This was stated by political scientist Vigen Hakobyan in an interview with NEWS.am, addressing the statements of the Secretary of the Security Council regarding border delimitation and demarcation.

“However, this does not mean that there are no disagreements on methodology and other issues, because delimitation also has local problems. We know that the enclaves are being discussed, and for Armenia, the topic of enclaves is quite a sensitive issue. If these enclaves are conceded to Azerbaijan, then the Azerbaijanis will take control of the interstate Armenian-Georgian road in Tavush, as well as the Armenian-Iranian road in Syunik. We have already seen what happens when the Armenian-Iranian road was closed a few days ago,” he noted.

The political scientist believes that Azerbaijan views this process in connection with the future recognition of its borders, including the recognition of Artsakh as an inseparable part of Azerbaijan, or that this process does not relate to that issue. “In other words, the issues of delimitation and demarcation are not so much the problem here, as the interconnected issues of the Artsakh question and the opening of communications,” he stressed.

Vigen Hakobyan, however, believes that as much as Azerbaijan claims that there is no longer a question of Artsakh, the Artsakh issue remains unresolved, and the countries of the Minsk Group will try to bring Azerbaijan into the negotiation arena by persuading or threatening it.

It is worth noting that the Secretary of the Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, recently addressed the issue of delimitation and demarcation, stating: “Armenia is ready for delimitation and demarcation. We have already announced this in this regard. No work is currently underway; we are waiting for Azerbaijan’s response, hoping that Azerbaijan will also respond positively and create the opportunity to start delimitation and demarcation work as quickly as possible in order to resolve the crisis at the border as quickly as possible.”