Pashinyan: Yerevan and Baku’s recognition of territorial integrity an important stepMay 19, 2023 - 16:56 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Armenia and Azerbaijan’s recognition of each other’s territorial integrity is an important step for the establishment of stability and peace in the region Pashinyan made the remarks at a Cebinet meeting on Thursday, May 18 when presenting the results of his meeting with the president of Azerbaijan held in Brussels on May 14 at the mediation of the President of the European Council. “On May 14, my meeting with the leader of Azerbaijan took place in Brussels through the mediation of Charles Michel, the President of the European Council. As you remember, during the meeting held in Prague on October 6, 2022 at the mediation of the President of France and the President of the European Council, the president of Azerbaijan and I reaffirmed our countries' commitment to the UN Charter and the Alma Ata Declaration of 1991, stressing that we recognize the territorial integrity and sovereignty of each other based on those documents, we also confirmed that this will be the basis for the work of the border delimitation commissions,” Pashinyan said. “On May 14, we actually took another step and, as indicated in the statement of the President of the European Council following the May 14 meeting, we noted that Azerbaijan recognizes Armenia’s territorial integrity in 29,800 square kilometers, and Armenia recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity in 86,600 square kilometers. “I have to record that I consider this an important step for the establishment of stability and peace in the region, in terms of the finalization of the text of the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the delimitation of the borders as well. But, of course, the next step must be identifying and consenting on concrete grounds for delimitation that have legal force and significance.” Pashinyan drew special attention to the fact that in the statement of the President of the European Council following the tripartite meeting on May 14, the importance of the dialogue between Baku and Stepanakert on the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in cooperation with the international community was emphasized. “This is a process that is essential for a real and comprehensive settlement of relations with Azerbaijan and the establishment of lasting peace in the region. Therefore, it will greatly accelerate the signing of the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the Prime Minister said. “I should emphasize that a certain positive understanding was formed in Brussels regarding the restoration of the Armenia-Azerbaijan railway, but taking into account the previous experience, I will refrain from any specification in this regard. I would like to emphasize once again that the Republic of Armenia is ready to implement the opening of the communications provided for in paragraph 9 of the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020 and again in the trilateral statement of January 11, as soon as possible, based on the principles of sovereignty, jurisdiction, equality and reciprocity of the parties. “You have learned from the statement of the President of the European Council that there was also a certain understanding regarding the further release of prisoners and other detained persons, clarification of the fates of the missing, but considering the extremely sensitive nature of the issue, I will only say that the discussions on this topic will continue during the upcoming meetings.” Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. CSTO recognizes Armenia’s sovereign right to withdraw Tasmagambetov has said that if Armenia decides to leave the organization, “it will be the sovereign right of Armenia.” |