"Azerbaijan receives villages, Armenia gets risks` reduction":  Premier`s Office comments on joint statement of RA, AR commissions on  border delimitation 

ArmInfo. The Department of Information and Public Relations of the Office of the Prime Minister  of Armenia commented to the "Armenpress" state news agency on the joint release of the commissions on the delimitation of the state border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, issued following the meeting.

Thus, a media release posted on the website of the RA Ministry of  Foreign Affairs states that:" "At the initial stage of the  demarcation process, the Parties have preliminarily agreed on  separate sections of the border line, directly between the  settlements of  Baghanis (RA-Republic of Armenia) - Baghanis Ayrum  (AR-Azerbaijan Republic), Voskepar (RA) - Ashagh Askipara (AR),  Kirants (RA) - Khairemli (AR)  Berkaber (RA) - Qizilhachili (AR) in  order to conform to the legally established inter-republican border  existing at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union."

As explained in Nikol Pashinyan's office, this means that "the two  commissions reproduced on the map the borders between the  above-mentioned villages that existed during the period of the Soviet  Union, and in the next step, these borders should be clarified and  expressed on the ground as well, and this will be an unprecedented  event. For the first time, there will be a demarcated state border  between our countries, in the section of the four villages."

When asked what year of maps is this process based on, the Department  stated: "The cartographic basis of the process is the most recent  topographical maps with a legal base of the USSR period, which were  drawn by bodies with such authority. The important detail is that  according to the statement issued by the Commissions, the borders  that existed at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union and have  a legal basis are being restored. In other words, the borders that de  jure existed between Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan. It is also  important to record that the Commissions agreed that in the entire  process of border delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, they  will rely on the 1991 Alma Ata Declaration, which is recorded as a  fundamental principle of the border delimitation process. This  principle should also be recorded in the Regulation of the border  liberalization process, which will be agreed upon between the parties  in the coming months and will undergo the necessary internal  processes, including the approval process in the parliament."

Commenting on the line in the statement that "if another fundamental  principle different from the Alma-Ata Declaration is recorded in the  Peace Treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Regulation of border  delimitation will comply with that principle> and whether this  creates grounds for renouncing the Alma Ata Declaration, the  Department responded: " No. The commissions simply noted that they  are not a negotiating format for the Peace Treaty. That treaty is  being negotiated in a different format and will have a higher status,  and after its entry into force, if it turns out that the Regulation  is in conflict with a document of higher legal significance, it  should be brought into line with it, because, let's repeat, the  status of the Peace Treaty is much higher. The Alma Ata Declaration  is fundamental for the normalization of relations between Armenia and  Azerbaijan, and it has already been agreed at the highest level as a  basic principle," the officials noted.

Touching upon the last paragraph of the joint press release, which  also mentions the issue of enclaves/exclaves, the office of the head  of the RA Cabinet of Ministers noted that the Commissions agreed that  after the approval of the Regulation, they will agree on the order of  delimitation of the remaining sections of the Armenia-Azerbaijan  state border (that is, which sections of the border will be  reproduced next) and in this context they will also address the issue  of enclaves/exclaves.

" You know that the Republic of Armenia cannot renounce this issue,  because Artsvashen is a part of the sovereign territory of our  country. We are going to de jure substantiate the existence of the  Artsvashen exclave/enclave in the delimitation process, and the  government of the Republic of Armenia has such substantiations, after  which the actual delimitation process around Artsvashen will be  carried out. What kind of political solution will be given to the  issue after being recorded is a different question. In the  delimitation process, the existence of the exclave/enclaves must  first be substantiated de jure," the Department stated.

The Prime Minister's Department of Information and Public Relations  also reported that after the border delimitation, the armed forces  will withdraw in the area of the four villages and give way to the  border guard troops.

"It will happen within a short but reasonable period without  artificial delays," they stated.

At the same time, Pashinyan's office assured that not a single  village in Armenia will  be deprived of roads as a result of this  process.

"No. In the section of Kirants village, a few hundred meters section  of the road outline will be changed, which is not something difficult  and will be implemented in a few months. But this is not the only  road for Kirants. The Kirants-Acharkut-Ijevan road will be repaired,  maybe rebuilt as well. We mean, Kirants also has an alternative road,  and practically there are no major problems," they noted,  adding  that the village of Voskepar will also not have problems with roads.  "At this stage, areas that have the potential to cause such a problem  are not being delimited," they explained.

To the remark that as a result of this border delimitation process,  Azerbaijan will come close to the villages of Kirants and Voskepar in  a number of areas. And how will the security of these villages be  ensured, the Department noted that Azerbaijan is still very close to  these villages and they are under direct attack.  "First of all,  let's note that Azerbaijan is very close to those villages even today  and they are under direct fire. Yes, as a result of this process, the  border guard service of Azerbaijan will get closer to the villages of  Kirants and Voskepar, but their villages and ours will be separated  by a delimited state border. This is a key factor and let's not  forget that the border protection will be carried out by the border  guards of the Republic of Armenia. In addition, there are many  details of providing security, which will also be discussed and  detailed in the near future," they emphasized.

The news agency asked, "According to the described process,  Azerbaijan receives 4 villages. What does Armenia get?", in response,  the Prime Minister's Office stated: " For the sake of accuracy, let's  record that Azerbaijan receives two and a half villages belonging to  it, because the entire territory of the village of Qizilhachili, a  significant part of the territory of the village of Ashagh Askipara  was under the control of Azerbaijan.  And in this process, the  Republic of Armenia gets a reduction of risks related to security and  border delimitation. With today's event, as already mentioned above,  we have a delimited border with Azerbaijan for the first time, which  can be described as a significant event. The Republic of Armenia also  gets an active platform and an opportunity to organize the border  delimitation process in a civilized and legitimate way and to  implement it, providing the necessary security, social and legal  guarantees of the population."

The picture depicts the map showing today's agreements.