Borders in Other Areas Were Not Defined by Mutual Agreement, Issues Existed Here as Well: Pashinyan

There is a significant misunderstanding regarding the situation related to border delimitation. This was stated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a conversation with journalists at the National Assembly on June 12.

"The process of delimitation is, at least equally, an initiative of the Armenian government to record the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. I have said this, if not very directly, at least addressed this topic several times, including from the podium of the National Assembly," he said.

In response to a remark that Azerbaijan has not yet exited the sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia and that those areas have not been delimited, Pashinyan said: "Those borders were not defined by mutual agreement. Because, based on the same logic, there were significant problems in Voskepa. I went to Voskepa, discussed with the residents, listened to them, and I cannot say, for instance, that we solved the issues raised by the residents of Voskepa, Baghanis, Kirants, or Berkaber, but in this process that has taken place, the views of the people of Voskepa have been substantially taken into account."

He added, "Later, we went to talk with the people of Berkaber because there are certain differences in perceptions. The first time I went to Voskepa, I put on the table exactly the option you are asking about. The residents of Voskepa argued why, at least at this stage, it is not a good option. We told them our understanding is that we should carry out delimitation this way, across the territories of all 4 villages. The residents of Voskepa protested, stating that this is unacceptable for them. They proposed another option. I said, 'I heard you, I will go, come back, and tell you what we consider rational and what we consider feasible.' I said, 'You raised, conditionally, 5 questions, three of them can be resolved, two cannot.' The people of Voskepa said, 'We have no question, if this is the way we are going, we will tolerate this option.'

After that, we went to Kirants, and I said, 'You raised 5 questions, again conditionally, two of those you raised can be resolved.' The residents of Kirants, who were more positive after the first meeting, saw a change in the picture after the meeting," Pashinyan declared.