Using the Alma-Ata Declaration as a Basis in the Demarcation Process is Criminally Punishable: Vahagn Melikyan

Today, we are threatened with war and told that the alternative to their illegal actions is war. This was stated by Vahagn Melikyan, a member of the All-Armenian Council of Diplomats and former Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, during a rally led by Bishop Bagrat in Republic Square.

"I am here today to declare that our alternative is peace," he said, presenting a document proposed by the council of diplomats, which will demonstrate what will happen if this process is not halted.

According to Melikyan, the process that has started in the Tavush region within the sovereign territory of Armenia must be unequivocally classified as an illegal process of demarcation and delimitation under the threat of force or a continuation of capitulation under the guise of a peace agreement.

“This is reflected in Aliyev's words; he explicitly stated that without firing a shot, exclusively on their terms, the Azerbaijani side will receive territories. At the same time, there are no security guarantees to prevent a new war, and the threat of another military aggression continues to loom over our people,” emphasized the diplomat.

He noted that it is now clear that there are no real negotiations and the process is happening through unilateral concessions by Armenia.

“Conducting demarcation and delimitation in the absence of a comprehensive peace treaty and diplomatic relations between the two countries is an unprecedented phenomenon in diplomatic practice, which directly calls into question its legality. This approach is unacceptable, unconstitutional, and illegal. The Alma-Ata Declaration has no boundary description, and no maps are attached; it only confirms the absence of territorial claims towards each other,” he emphasized.

The diplomat stressed that exclusively adopting the Alma-Ata Declaration as a basis for demarcation is illegal and criminally punishable. “Any retreat or positional changes of the Armenian armed forces must be excluded until the completion of the full demarcation and delimitation process of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. First and foremost, an intergovernmental agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan is necessary,” he concluded.