Pashinyan reaffirms recognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity

The Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has reaffirmed his recognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity in a speech to the Armenian parliament on Tuesday (18 April).

In the speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan said:

"The peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will become realistic if the two countries recognise clearly, without ambiguities and pitfalls, each other's territorial integrity and undertake not to ever submit territorial claims to each other. I now want to reaffirm that Armenia fully recognises the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and we expect Azerbaijan to do the same by recognising the entire territory of the Armenian [Soviet Socialist Republic] as the [modern-day] Republic of Armenia."

Yesterday's speech from Pashinyan echoes a recognition made in a joint statement with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Charles Michel issued after their meeting held in Prague on 6 October, as well as a statement issued between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia after a meeting in Sochi on 31 October.

Both statements upheld the 1991 Alma-Ata declaration, in which Armenia and other newly independent Soviet republics recognised each other’s Soviet-era borders, as the basis upon which to recognise each other's territory in a peace treaty.

source: commonspace.eu with agencies
photo: RFE/RL