Armenian PM Pashinyan: Armenia & Azerbaijan Likely Not Opposed to 1975 Maps for Border Delimitation

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced during a meeting with the Armenian Diaspora in Moldova following the five-sided meeting held in Chișinău that Armenia and Azerbaijan are likely not opposed to using the 1975 maps as a basis for the border delimitation works.

"In general, I consider the discussion productive," said the Prime Minister.

Pashinyan reminded that in Prague, it was agreed upon that Armenia and Azerbaijan should mutually recognize each other's territorial integrity based on the Almaty Declaration. The Almaty Declaration was signed in December 1991 after the collapse of the USSR, and it focused on countries recognizing each other's territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders within existing borders.

"In Prague, we reached that agreement, and in Brussels, we went one step further. We came to the understanding that Azerbaijan recognizes the territorial integrity of Armenia's 29,800 square kilometers, and in return, Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, which covers 86,600 square kilometers," said the Prime Minister.

He emphasized that the understanding is that the issue of the rights and security of the Armenians in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) should be discussed in the format of the Baku-Stepanakert dialogue. This dialogue should take place with international involvement to ensure that this agenda is not forgotten.

"Today, there is one very preliminary detail that is important. I say 'very preliminary' because we need to check Azerbaijan's reaction to today's meeting. It seems that the parties are not opposed to taking the 1975 maps as a basis for further delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This would be another step to reaffirm the territorial integrity of the respective areas, 29,800 square kilometers for Armenia and 86,600 square kilometers for Azerbaijan," Pashinyan added.