Where Does Armenia's Border Run? Pashinyan on Border Delimitation

During a broadcast on Public Television, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan posed the question: if the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh has been resolved, why does the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh not feel it?

“We have said and continue to say that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue has never been about territory, but rather our foreign policy has not been able to present this context to the international community,” he stated.

According to the Prime Minister, the rights and security of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians need to be addressed. “We are not against the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh being resolved or considered resolved, but we say that this resolution must be seen, felt, and accepted by the people living there,” he emphasized.

Speaking about the occupation of Armenian territory by Azerbaijan, Pashinyan stressed that they raise the demand for the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops at all international meetings. “If we mutually accept the borders of 1991, it thereby confirms that Azerbaijan has occupied our territories, because the 1991 border is not a theoretical phenomenon; the whole world knows where this border runs. These are the administrative borders of the Soviet Union, which are well-known to all, and as a result of this fact, it is recorded that Azerbaijan has occupied our territories. If it acknowledges this and has recorded that they recognize it, they must withdraw from these territories, especially since it has also been recorded in the context of further discussions that delimitation of borders should take place based on this foundation,” Pashinyan said.

He stated that the decision to deploy an EU observation mission was made in the context of recognizing these borders.