Armenia, Azerbaijan cannot demarcate borders based on maps of 1975

ArmInfo. The demarcation of the borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot be carried out on  the basis of maps from 1975, since the boundaries indicated at that time were not state borders, believes Mesrop Arakelyan, ex-adviser to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, representative of the Country for Life party.

Araklyan argues for the above by the fact that at that time Armenia  and Azerbaijan were not subjects of international law, and therefore  could not have state borders.

However, according to the politician, this does not mean that there  has never been a state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"From November 1920 to March 1922, Armenia and Azerbaijan were de  jure independent states from the point of view of international law.  Only in March 1922 was the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist  Republic formed, to which Armenia joined. Moreover, the USSR was  formed later, only in December 1922," the politician recalled.

As a result, he continued, in 1922 Armenia and Azerbaijan had a state  border from the point of view of international law, according to  which they joined the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist  Republic, and then the USSR.

"Consequently, the basis for delimiting the borders of Armenia and  Azerbaijan should be taken exclusively from the maps of the beginning  of 1922, where Armenia and Azerbaijan were independent states with a  state border," concluded Arakelyan.

On October 17 in Strasbourg, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol  Pashinyan once again stated that Yerevan is ready to begin  demarcation and delimitation of borders with Azerbaijan based on the  latest maps of the USSR General Staff (approximately maps of 1975),  which also implies the transfer to Azerbaijan a number of Armenian  villages in the Tavush and Ararat regions.