According to political scientist Armen Vardanyan, Armenia must avoid the processes of demarcation and delimitation right now. In an interview with Aravot Daily, we reminded Armen Vardanyan that the Azeri Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeyhun Bayramov, offered Armenia the opportunity of starting bilateral discussions on the issues of demarcation and delimitation, and the Azeri and Turkish delegates to the OSCE are speaking about the necessity of those processes.
The political scientist said, “In reality, the processes of delimitation and demarcation are rather long and difficult. It demands years of work. For example, this process has not been completed along the Armenia-Georgia border. In this regard, it seems that the Azerbaijani side wants to achieve this process artificially and quickly to get Armenia to recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. And it seems that Russia is also pressuring Armenia on this issue. Russia also wants this process to be completed quickly and for Armenia to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. After this, the issue of Azerbaijan joining the EEU will most likely be discussed.”
According to Armen Vardanyan, if the issue is about an economic union, the countries in that union must have diplomatic relations with one another. It is impossible for countries that do not have diplomatic relations with one another to be part of the same economic union. In this regard, Armen Vardanyan noted, “From this perspective, it seems that Azerbaijan has some obligations towards Russia. It agreed to that process, but another condition was placed after that. It seems that Azerbaijan agreed to join the EEU, but it wants to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia and for Armenia to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.”
We asked what the Armenian side should do while taking into consideration Armenian interests. Armen Vardanyan responded, “At the moment, we need to avoid that process, despite the fact that it is obvious that there is serious pressure from the Russian side as well. We must try to delay it and to not take the steps of demarcation and delimitation. Establishing diplomatic relations is also an official process. But it is obvious that there is serious pressure on Armenia, and I do not know if our government is capable of withstanding that pressure or not. Let’s hope that it is.”
Read also
Tatev Harutyunyan
