YEREVAN, October 30. /TASS/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that it is necessary for the sides to observe three basic principles of settlement in order to reach a peace treaty with Azerbaijan.

"Three basic principles have been agreed upon that can contribute to peace and regulation of relations with Baku. And if the sides observe these principles, the signing of a peace treaty will become a reality," Pashinyan said in Yerevan at a parliamentary hearing on the 2024 budget.

The Armenian leader enumerated these principles. The first is formal recognition by both countries of each other's territorial integrity, given a sovereign territory of 29,800 square kilometers for Armenia and 86,600 square kilometers for Azerbaijan. The second principle is that the 1991 Almaty Declaration should become the political basis for the delimitation and further demarcation of the international border. The third principle is the opening of all regional communications lines and other utilities on the basis of mutual respect for the two countries’ respective sovereignty, jurisdiction and legislation, Pashinyan concluded.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are negotiating a peace treaty. One of the main obstacles is the issue of demarcation of the common section of the border. Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have held several face-to-face meetings mediated by Russia and the EU. Another issue discussed by the sides is the opening of regional communications. Yerevan insists that the principle of maintaining the jurisdiction of the countries through whose territory such communications pass should be applied.

In late October, Pashinyan said that he expected an agreement on peace and normalization of relations between Yerevan and Baku to be signed within a few months.