Discussions Needed on What to Exchange for Artsvashen: Melkonyan

Prime Minister Pashinyan stated that these four villages do not exist on the map. Commenting on Azerbaijan's demand for the surrender of four villages in the Tavush region and Pashinyan's response to it, ruling party MP Gagik Melkonyan said this.

In response to the suggestion that they should therefore be handed over to Azerbaijan, the MP replied that they should not be.

“What is within our territory is ours, and what is not within our territory is not ours. The Prime Minister literally said that the villages that Azerbaijan claims are not part of Armenia’s territory. Artsvashen, which is ours, is located in their territory, and discussions need to be held on what to exchange Artsvashen for; the same goes for Tigranashen, which also falls under their former territory,” said Melkonyan.

Responding to a question regarding the surrender of the Goris-Kapan highway, the MP stated that it was the Russians who handed it over to Azerbaijan.

“In that area, the Russian army was positioned alongside the Azerbaijani army in Shurnukh. One day, they sealed it off and handed it over to the Azerbaijanis, just like they did with the Lachin corridor,” he noted.