YEREVAN, November 24. /TASS/. Azerbaijan’s statements on the Zangezur corridor indicate that Baku has territorial ambitions with regards to Yerevan, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at an online press conference.
"Azerbaijan demonstrates by its actions that Baku has territorial ambitions with regards to Armenia. What do the Zangezur corridor or East Zangezur mean? Who makes up these terms? We asserted and will continue to assert that we won’t discuss issues in the corridor logic," he said.
The Armenian Prime Minister also touched upon the issue of Azerbaijani enclaves noting that their existence on Armenian territory needs to be reviewed from the legal point of view. "Azerbaijan is constantly trying to raise the issue of the enclaves, including on November 9, and I talked about it. Our position is the following: it is necessary to understand whether an enclave is just a drawing on a map or a legally established territory. We know of cases when collective farms were swapping territories. Do such exchanges have a legal basis? We have seriously studied and continue to study this issue," he said.
At the same time, he stressed that Armenia and Azerbaijan could only sign a document on the creation of a commission on the border’s demarcation and delimitation. "I gather from questions that there is an impression that a document will be signed on the results of demarcation and delimitation. Nothing of the kind. The only document that can potentially be signed is about Armenia and Azerbaijan creating a commission on demarcation and delimitation," the Armenian prime minister said. According to him, the issues of demarcation and delimitation will be resolved based on this commission’s work.
The Zangezur corridor is supposed to connect the main part of Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan through Zangezur (Armenia’s Syunik Province). Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev promised to achieve the creation of the corridor "regardless of Armenia’s desire" and talked about the readiness to resolve the issue through the use of force. Armenia’s Foreign Ministry condemned these statements, stressing that they harm regional peace and stability.
Following the end of military action in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone last fall, when seven regions adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh fell under Azerbaijan’s control, the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan moved to the immediate vicinity of the Syunik and Gegharkunik Provinces. The situation there aggravated on May 12. Then, the Armenian Defense Ministry announced that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces attempted to carry out "certain operations" in the Syunik Province in a bid to "redefine the border." The Azerbaijani forces ceased their activities after the Armenian Armed Forces took measures in response. Since then, the sides have been periodically reporting new incidents. At the same time, the Armenian prime minister noted that Yerevan had received offers from Moscow on the beginning of the demarcation and delimitation of the borders with Azerbaijan and was ready to approve them.