Tiran Khachatryan Discusses Proposal to Maintain Positions Near Kubatlu (Sanasar) and Berdzor

The former First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia, Lieutenant General Tiran Khachatryan, has opposed a provision in the trilateral statement regarding the surrender of enclaves to Azerbaijan. Khachatryan expressed his views in an interview with Sputnik Armenia, commenting on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statements made yesterday.

“At that moment, I was a bit shocked and angry, stating that what does surrendering enclaves or withdrawing from those areas have to do with the ceasefire? There was a certain discussion, after which I personally spoke with former Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan. During our phone conversation, he mentioned he spoke with Nikol Pashinyan, suggesting that at least the part about the enclaves be removed from the document,” Khachatryan emphasized.

He noted that he does not know what Pashinyan agreed upon with others, but personally, upon seeing the clause about the enclaves in the statement, he expressed his opinion even on the areas from which Armenian forces were to withdraw.

“A proposal was made not to withdraw and not to abandon our positions near Kubatlu (Sanasar) and Berdzor. We had favorable positions there. In return, we offered to leave the Azerbaijani side the segments of the territory of the Republic of Artsakh that they were entering into our territory, to exchange them. But this was also not accepted,” said the former Deputy Chief of the General Staff.

Khachatryan explained that these proposals were not recorded on paper at that moment, as the situation was developing rapidly. Later, of course, all of it was documented. However, the proposal was initially verbally presented to Nikol Pashinyan.

It is noteworthy that on May 22, during a meeting with journalists, Pashinyan clarified what it means for Armenia to recognize Azerbaijan's territorial integrity of 86,600 square kilometers and announced that Azerbaijan's 86,600 square kilometers also includes Nagorno-Karabakh. He also stated that the Tigranashen community in the Ararat region and six villages in Tavush are not included in the 29,800 square kilometers of Armenia's territorial integrity. Pashinyan assured that the Armenian side removed issues related to enclaves and corridor passage through Armenian territory from the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, and only afterwards signed the document. According to him, there have been high-ranking officials, including those in the General Staff, who urged to sign the trilateral document text with enclaves included.