Artsvashen Mayor Comments on Aliyev's Statement About 'Returning Azerbaijani 8 Enclaves'

During negotiations, if they manage to come to an agreement and a normal exchange occurs, our arteries will be freed; if they cannot, it is already clear that they will come to their territories, and we will go to ours. This perspective was shared by Mamikon Khechoyan, the mayor of Artsvashen since 1992, in an interview with Aysor.am regarding the President of Azerbaijan's statement about returning the 'Azerbaijani 8 enclaves.'

"They cannot want their enclaves and not return ours. No Azerbaijani has lived in our village, even though it has been surrounded by 15 Azerbaijani villages with a population of 40,000. For instance, in Jambarak and Vardenis, people have lived, but in our village, no one has lived for even a day or spent a night," he stated.

Khechoyan noted that in 1992, when the village was surrendered, the population was 2,800. "Today, 70% of the population is in Jambarak, then in Draxitik about 10%, 5% in Shorja, and so on," he added during the conversation with the media.

The mayor conditions the possibility of return on several factors, primarily emphasizing the guarantee of security and then the living conditions. "The village is now completely destroyed, and if there is an option for return, state support would be necessary for rebuilding the houses, but before that, there should first be security guarantees. How have we lived normally, as usual for 150 years? Because there has been security," he said.

Khechoyan added that besides that, without a peace agreement, there will not only be no security guarantee in Artsvashen but also in Armenia adjacent to Turkey and Azerbaijan. "Their military budget is 27 times greater than Armenia's budget, and if they say, ‘fight or keep your borders with soldiers,' that's not realistic. It is only possible to live both in Armenia and Artsvashen by creating conditions for peaceful coexistence," he stated.

When asked if he believes the issue of enclaves could simply serve as a pretext for renewed aggression by Azerbaijan, Mamikon Khechoyan responded: "No, why should they not want their borders, especially since they are strong now and Armenia is weak? Even if they don’t populate or leave it deserted, who will give up their land?"

He considers territory exchange as a possibility only if great powers intervene. "Yes, we are proposing, but Artsvashen is 46 km², while their enclaves are 10,000... so we will see what kind of exchange can happen during negotiation processes. But if they say 'give us our land and that's it,’ the Republic of Armenia cannot resist; that can only be said by big players like Russia or another state—‘you cannot live together, exchange and get away,’" he noted.