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Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 0033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46
Email: root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am
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July 29, 2008
ACNIS Hearing Considers Armenia’s Frontiers Under International Law
Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)
today convened a policy roundtable to examine the matter of Armenia’s right
to sovereignty in the territories which, under international law, were
allotted to–or reserved for–the modern-day Republic of Armenia. The
meeting brought together MPs, leading analysts, policy specialists, public
and political figures, NGO representatives, and members of the press.
ACNIS research coordinator Syuzanna Barseghian welcomed the audience with
opening remarks. "When considering the urgent problems currently faced by
Armenian statehood, the boundary issue of Armenia develops into a crucial
matter all the more. We must view this question in relation to
international law," Barseghian said.
The day’s speaker, Ambassador Ara Papian, director of the Modus Vivendi
Social and Scientific Research Center, delivered a thorough public
presentation devoted to Armenia’s boundary issue under international law.
According to Papian, it is apparent that with its current borders and
present-day structure, the Armenian state will be unable to address the
challenge of guaranteeing its sovereignty, the security of its citizens, the
economic growth of the country, beneficial conditions for its citizenry, and
its national identity and cultural development. Moreover, the nation’s
capacity to endure as an independent state will continue to be full of
extreme twists and turns. "Armenia’s boundary issues can and must be
resolved solely by implementing the relevant adopted decisions and clarified
precepts that are founded on international law," Papian noted.
Ara Papian presented the historical legal documents based on which Armenia
can file a petition with international organizations and foreign countries,
requiring final and legal definition of its borders. He stated that the
matter concerning the boundaries among the countries of the South Caucasus
and the borders of Armenia and Turkey was discussed during the 1919-1920
Paris Peace Conference. With its report on the boundaries of Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and Georgia, the bases for delimitation were clarified and
fixed. In Armenia’s case, this specific basis was the "Report and Proposals
of the Commission for the Delimitation of the Boundaries of Armenia," dated
24 February 1920. And in the case of Armenian and Turkish frontiers, the
controlling determination was US President Woodrow Wilson’s mandatory and
irreversible "Arbitral Award," dated 22 November 1920, which went into force
the day it was reached and remains in effect to this day. "Not presenting
our lawful territorial foundations, which primarily apply in respect of
Turkey, will be interpreted as our silent acquiescence in the de facto
boundaries and therefore we will be deprived of the right to raise this
issue in the years to come," Papian concluded. He also made an appeal to
give ultimate importance to this matter and expressed an optimism that this
aspiration will be brought to fruition.
The hearing concluded with an exchange of opinions and policy
recommendations among ACNIS director of administration Karapet Kalenchian;
analyst Marcel Abrahamian of the Constitutional Court; Giro Manoyan of the
Dashnaktsutiun Party; member of parliament Stepan Safarian; analyst Gevorg
Hakobian of the Armenian National Assembly; political scientist Edward
Antinian; coordinator Mane Hakobian of "The People are Masters of the
Country" civic union; Artak Zeinalian of the Republic Party; geography
postgraduate Husik Ghulian of Yerevan State University; Daniel Ioannisian of
the Nationalist Students’ Council; and several others.
Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves
as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges
facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also
aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider
understanding of the new global environment. In 2008, the Center focuses
primarily on civic education, democratic development, conflict resolution,
and applied research on critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the
state and the nation.
For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax
(37410) 52-48-46; email root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am; or visit