Demarcation Alongside Demilitarization: 'Hraparak'

'Hraparak' newspaper reports that despite Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's announcement during his online press conference the day before, stating that the upcoming document on demarcation and delimitation will serve as a preliminary agreement to establish such a commission, while substantive issues will be discussed during negotiations, certain circles were already discussing the content of the document. Specifically, according to information leaks, the prerequisite for starting the demarcation and delimitation process is the withdrawal of the army from Syunik, in other words, the demilitarization of Syunik.

In parts of Pashinyan's speech during the previous press conference, this was noticeable. For instance, Pashinyan mentioned that the latest proposals on demarcation and delimitation do not differ much from previous proposals: 'The idea of troop withdrawal is ours, but the question arises of what principles will guide the withdrawal of troops and in which areas they will be pulled back, as well as which points we reflect troop withdrawal against, and how to ensure that the withdrawn troops do not start moving and occupying new positions under the cover of darkness. If demarcation and delimitation are to occur under the shadow of clashes, then the whole process is doomed to failure.'

He further added that they are working on all of this on a daily basis. His remarks suggest that the best solution to avoid clashes is mutual demilitarization. However, what guarantees do we have that we will demilitarize Syunik, while the opponent will not do the same? Ultimately, our army is our only guarantee of defense, and dismantling it would leave us completely defenseless in front of Turkish-Azerbaijani military forces.

For more details, see today's edition of the newspaper.