Armenia`s territories gradually surrendered under the guise of "pilot border delimitation" - opposition MP
ArmInfo. Everything that is happening in Armenia today under the guise of "pilot border delimitation" is nothing more than the surrender of parts of Armenian territories to Azerbaijan, opposition Armenian MP Artur Khachatryan stated in Parliament while presenting a draft statement to the National Assembly on the process of delimitation and demarcation of borders, which was planned to be included in the parliament's agenda.
According to Khachatryan, the process of delimitation and demarcation of borders that has begun is being carried out without any legal justification. It began with the surrender of part of the ancestral territory in Shurnukh in the Syunik region and continues to this day. "Today we are witnessing this surrender of territories, how the life of local residents became more complicated, how communication with Iran turned out to be difficult. The same thing is happening today in Tavush. To prevent this, the parliamentary opposition proposed a draft statement of the National Assembly, which attempted to streamline the process of delimitation and demarcation of borders. The main purpose of the previously submitted text of the statement was to determine the legal nature of this process. The opposition proposed a legal basis for these steps of the RA government, guided by the best international experience. In other words, to do what the government promised, but subsequently, as always, abandoning this promise," Khachatryan noted.
As an example, he cited the words of Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, who stated that at the first stage of negotiations between the commissions on delimitation and demarcation of borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the work procedure of the commissions was discussed, and now the issue of regulations for their activities is being discussed, which involves the use of a methodology for describing borders. "The Deputy Prime Minister promised to introduce the results of this work into interstate circulation and submit them to the country's parliament as a draft law. However, as we see, the words of the Deputy Prime Minister turned out to be empty ringing, and no bill was presented to the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia," noted the parliamentarian.
Khachatryan added that the government has gone further in its steps; in addition to delimitation, border demarcation is also being carried out in parallel without the presence of any legal basis. "Border pillars are being installed, who gave you the right to do this, on whose instructions this is happening, especially since the powers of the commissions on the delimitation and demarcation of borders and security are purely advisory in nature. They can only provide advice. To whom were these advice offered, as was a decision has been made," Khachatryan asked, adding that the opposition's draft statement clearly stated the position that decisions on the contours of state borders cannot in any way affect the political solution to the Artsakh issue.
In turn, NA deputy from the ruling Civil Contract faction Maria Karapetyan noted that Armenia will not surrender a single centimeter of its own territory to Azerbaijan. These territories, Karapetyan continued, are not only not discussed, but will not be exchanged for other territories. In fact, the deputy noted, with its statement the opposition is trying to abandon the country's state borders and return to hostilities, which is unacceptable. Moreover, it carries political, diplomatic and military risks. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan signed the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991, thereby confirming each other's territorial integrity. For this reason, Karapetyan proposed voting against the presented document.
Before the voting itself, representative of the Armenia faction Artsvik Minasyan asked for a 20-minute break, after which the ruling majority failed to include the issue on the parliamentary agenda. 27 deputies voted for this decision with 51 against.
According to the draft statement, the delimitation and demarcation of borders between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan must comply with best international practice and be based on the Vienna Convention on the Law of International Treaties of the United Nations and the Helsinki Final Act. The document indicates the inadmissibility of the use of force or the threat of its use when concluding any international agreement.
The delimitation and demarcation of borders between the two states can be carried out in an atmosphere of trust, for which the most important prerequisites are the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, the cessation of expansionist rhetoric on the part of Azerbaijan, the return of all prisoners of war and detainees, the solution of existing humanitarian problems, the preservation of cultural , historical and spiritual heritage of the Armenian people.
This process should in no way limit the right of the people of Artsakh to collectively return to Nagorno- Karabakh under international guarantees with the determination of the final status of Artsakh (Nagorno- Karabakh). The statement also noted that the delimitation and demarcation of borders between the two countries are consistent processes that take into account international law and best practices. When changing the borders of Armenia, a referendum is necessary. In work on border delimitation, one should use not only maps drawn up on the basis of relevant legal acts, including those available at the General Staff of the Russian Federation, but also delimitation activities carried out by legal representatives of the bodies of the two former Soviet republics. The agreement on the delimitation and demarcation of borders between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan should ensure the complete and simultaneous unblocking of transport and other communication channels with the impossibility of limiting their sovereignty.
On April 19, the commissions for demarcation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to begin demarcation of the border from the Tavush region. According to them, the description of these sections of the border line will be drawn up taking into account the clarification of the coordinates that will be obtained as a result of geodetic measurements on site. All this will be documented in the appropriate protocol description, which must be agreed upon and signed between the parties before May 15 of this year.