I Knew That Maps Are Kept in Russia: The President's Call to Putin

Republican President Armen Sarkissian granted an exclusive interview to the general director of the Russian RBK television channel. Ilya Doronov recalled President Putin's statement at the "Valdai" club, where he stated that one should look at the General Staff's maps from the 1920s, which are available in Russia, and based on that conduct delimitation of territories.

Doronov asked the Armenian President if he had any assessment regarding that statement. Does he agree with that statement?

“After the war, I wrote a letter to Vladimir Putin because I knew that these maps were kept in the Russian Federation. Of course, I do not know exactly where,” Armen Sarkissian said.

The President noted that from the very first day of the ceasefire, significant problems emerged. These were mainly related to the villages that were on the border of those operations. They were connected with companies that were also on that line, including companies whose owners are Russian citizens.

“These were mining companies, and now it is unclear whether the mines are on the right or left side. At that time, I wrote a letter to Vladimir Putin that the maps are kept. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan is using some map from Google. I know mathematics and programming; I can draw a map of Dilijan in such a way that it appears on Google according to what you need. These are virtual maps,” the President pointed out.

The President emphasized that we have a common history in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. These issues were addressed even during the Soviet era.

“If I am not mistaken, starting in 1984, a special commission was created that was bilateral - Moscow and two other parties, at the vice-premier level. At that time, they were called deputies of the heads of the Armenian SSR and the Azerbaijani SSR governments. If I am not mistaken, that commission worked for 4-5 years. I think some things were signed there. Of course, there was no final document. Those documents are also somewhere in Moscow. It is clear that this issue cannot be resolved without Russia,” the Armenian President stated.