Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, which includes Nagorno-Karabakh, but on condition of ensuring the security of the Armenian population. He said this during a press conference on Monday.
"Armenia recognizes 86.6 thousand square kilometers of Azerbaijan and on the basis that Azerbaijan is ready to recognize 29.8 thousand square kilometers of the territorial integrity of Armenia. 86.6 thousand square kilometers of Azerbaijan includes Nagorno-Karabakh, but it should be noted that we also say that the issue of rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh should be discussed in Baku-Stepanakert format," Pashinyan said.
According to the head of the Armenian cabinet, Yerevan has an understanding that Baku recognizes Armenia's territorial integrity.
He also called for international guarantees of security and the rights of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, expressing concern that otherwise Azerbaijan may launch ethnic cleansing in the region.
Baku and Yerevan have disputed the ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when it announced its secession from the Azerbaijani SSR. The situation in the region escalated on September 27, 2020, with active fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the full cessation of hostilities in Karabakh on November 9, 2020.
According to the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the occupied positions, several districts passed under Baku's control, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the line of contact and in the Lachin corridor. Subsequently, the leaders of the three countries adopted several more joint statements on the situation in the region. Last year, Azerbaijan and Armenia began discussing a peace treaty.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS
Based on materials from TASS