Our policy is that we must not allow war to start - Armenian premier 

ArmInfo.Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited Tavush region. In Voskepar, the Prime Minister met  the local resident, as well as the residents of Baghanis, and then visited Kirants village. Nikol Pashinyan referred to the border delimitation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In his speech in Voskepar, the Prime Minister said: "As we previously  agreed, I said that when there are practical problems to be solved  with your settlement, I will come and discuss and talk with you  personally.  What practical matter have I come to discuss with you?  The problem is that the process of delimitation and demarcation  between Armenia and Azerbaijan is entering the practical stage. What  does delimitation and demarcation mean in general, and specifically  in the case of the Republic of Armenia? It means to go and locate on  the ground where the Republic of Armenia begins. We all know, you  know better than me where it starts or where it ends, it's the same  thing, no matter which way you look at the Republic of Armenia."

The Prime Minister showed the sketch of Armenia to the audience and  noted that it is the Republic of Armenia which we all know. "The  delimitation and demarcation process is as follows. the delimitation  commissions should go and decide on the spot where the Republic of  Armenia begins, and that should become the state border between the  Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Why are we referring to this section and why have we come to discuss  this issue with Voskepar specifically? Because there are some issues  that we need to discuss. We note the following: we see that we can  start a real process of delimitation and demarcation in this section  from Baghanis to Berkaber.

What's special here? You know that Azerbaijan is talking about 4  villages, it's about the 4 non-enclave villages. You know we are  talking about 31 villages. We raise this issue, they raise that  issue. And when we want to move forward in these discussions, even if  we rely on the logic that we have 31 settlements in a problematic  situation, while Azerbaijan has less, Azerbaijan uses such an  argument that the actual territory of none of the settlements of the  Republic of Armenia is under the control of Azerbaijan. that is, the  residential area of the village is not under the control of  Azerbaijan. What do they say? They say: let's mutually free the  territories of the settlements, then discuss and talk about the vital  areas of the villages and settlements.

Of course, we bring counter arguments, we say that the village is not  only the village administration, the village is also its vital areas,  I mean, during those discussions, we bring all the arguments, and  those arguments are fair. Our policy is that we must not allow war,  we must not allow war to start. And this is also the reason why we  have decided to adjust the border of the Republic of Armenia in these  areas and we are doing it not only for the sake of the Republic of  Armenia, but also specifically for the village of Voskepar, the  village of Kirants, in order to ensure the security of these  villages," said the Prime Minister.

Earlier Baku announced the immediate "return of 4 villages" located  on the border of the Tavush region of Armenia and the Gazakh region  of Azerbaijan. The statement followed a meeting of the border  delimitation commissions, headed by the vice-premiers of the two  countries, Mher Grigoryan and Shahin Mustafayev.  "As for the four  non-exclave Azerbaijani villages (Baganis Ayrim, Ashagi Eskipara,  Kheyrimli and Gyzylgajili) occupied by Armenia, their belonging to  Azerbaijan is indisputable, and they are subject to immediate  release," the statement said. Baku is also confident that within the  framework of the delimitation process "the issue of liberation of  four exclave villages (Yukhary Askipara, Sofulu, Barkhudarlu in the  Armenian Tavush, as well as Kyarki (Armenian - Tigranashen) in the  Ararat region, on the border with Nakhichevan will be resolved.)> .  At the same time, Baku denied the statements of the Armenian  authorities that Azerbaijan occupied the territory of 31 Armenian  settlements in five regions with a total area of about 200 square  kilometers, calling it "an unfounded statement." Some of them came  under the control of Azerbaijan back in the 1990s during the first  Karabakh war, the other as a result of Azerbaijani aggression in  2021-2022.

Despite this, Pashinyan said at the last press conference that there  have never been villages with such names on the territory of the  Republic of Armenia, not only in Soviet times, but also after it. At  the same time, the prime minister did not rule out that delimitation  could begin from the Tavush region. Regarding the possibility of  exchanging territories, Pashinyan said that this could distort or  lead to additional risks>. In this context, in his opinion, in order  to avoid problems in the future, it is more correct to build new  communications so that they pass through the de jure territory of the  Republic of Armenia (the territories claimed by Azerbaijan are  located in the Tavush region. There is an interstate highway  connecting Armenia with Georgia - through Ijevan, Noyemberyan,  Bagratashen - Ed.).