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.