Armenia MFA wants demarcation within final Karabakh settlement

PanARMENIAN.Net - The processes of delimitation and subsequent demarcation of the borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be part of a comprehensive peace settlement process, within which, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group, the issues of de-occupation of the territories of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and determination of the final legal status of Artsakh should be resolved, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan said on Friday, May 21.

Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed earlier on Thursday that the Armenian government is indeed negotiating a new document with Azerbaijan and Russia. The redacted paper was first published by Armenia's former ambassador to the Vatican Mikayel Minasyan, who said Pashinyan was going to sign the new agreement that would damage the interests of the country. Pashinyan maintained, however, that "those "solutions are 100% in line with the interests of the Republic of Armenia."

“Setting forward conditions through the use of force or the threat of force is a flagrant violation of international law. Armenia will not succumb to such pressure," the spokesperson said.

Naghdalyan also noted that Armenia rejects the introduction of so-called "disputed territories", when speaking about Azerbaijan's incursion into Armenia, which she said could create a dangerous precedent for justifying the use of force in other regions.

According to her, the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Azerbaijani armed forces from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia to their original positions could create necessary conditions for considering issues with a political and diplomatic toolkit.

During the recent military hostilities, Azerbaijani forces launched two targeted attacks on the Holy Savior Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi. Azerbaijan earlier "restored" a church by replacing its Armenian inscription with glass art. Furthermore, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev visited the region of Hadrut in territories occupied by Azerbaijan and declared his intention to "renovate" a 12th century Armenian church, which he claimed to "an Albanian church". Aliyev went so far as to accuse Armenians of leaving "fake inscriptions" in the Armenian language.