Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated in the National Assembly that the principle of mutual recognition of territorial integrity between Armenia and Azerbaijan has always been reflected in various stages of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict negotiation process.

He made this comment in response to criticism during a government Q&A session suggesting that authorities are using the dissolution of Nagorno-Karabakh to obscure Armenia’s 2022 recognition of the region as part of Azerbaijan during the Prague meeting.

“I must acknowledge a fact that is both widely known and deliberately ignored by some officials, perhaps to avoid public backlash. The Republic of Armenia has never recognized the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. Alongside the dissolution of the Soviet Union, by signing the Alma-Ata Declaration, Armenia recognized Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity within its Soviet-era borders. Moreover, this foundational principle of mutual territorial recognition was clearly present from the start in all key negotiation phases on the Karabakh conflict, including documents such as the Madrid Principles,” said Mirzoyan, according to Armenpress.

He also noted that one of the Madrid Principles is the principle of territorial integrity, while the right to self-determination was considered within that context. Mirzoyan emphasized that this same principle, as rooted in the logic of the Alma-Ata Declaration, is also reflected in subsequent negotiation documents and joint declarations from various meeting formats, including the 2022 quadrilateral statement in Prague. According to him, the principle is also enshrined in the rules of procedure for the Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation commissions, which were signed on August 30, 2024, and are now in force.

“This very principle is also reflected in the agreed text of the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the minister concluded.

On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack on Nagorno-Karabakh, bombarding the region. A day later, on September 20, Nagorno-Karabakh’s authorities agreed to a ceasefire proposed by the Russian peacekeeping mission, accepting Baku’s terms, including disarmament and the dissolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Forced displacement of Armenians began on September 24, with over 100,000 people fleeing to Armenia. According to some sources, only around 20 Armenians remain in the region. On September 28, Nagorno-Karabakh’s President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree on dissolution, which came into force on January 1, 2024.