The situation since March 30 at the Tegh village section of Armenia needs a detailed examination, including evaluating our actions in terms of actions to protect that part of the state border from the beginning. This was stated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at Thursday’s Cabinet session of the Armenian government.
"At the same time, I must record that Azerbaijan's actions at that section are provocative and contradict the statements adopted at the meetings held on October 6, 2022 in Prague and on October 31, 2022 in Sochi.
"In terms of the political assessment of the border situation, I believe that the message disseminated by the EU the previous day, where the border line of 1991 is emphasized, is important. It’s about the administrative border that existed between the Armenian SSR and the Azerbaijan SSR, which was transformed into a state border on December 21, 1991 by the Almaty Declaration. That border line must be respected, the EU statement notes.
"It emphasizes the withdrawal of the armed forces of both sides from that border line to a safe distance as a reliable guarantee of the stability of the situation. Armenia is ready to go to such a measure along the entire border line of Armenia-Azerbaijan in 1991. We express our readiness in this regard since 2021, and such an action stems from the logic of the Prague quadrilateral and the Sochi trilateral agreements," said the Armenian PM.
He added, however, that such a solution is hindered by Azerbaijan's destructive approach.
"Azerbaijan systematically demonstrates its practice of not fulfilling the agreements reached on international platforms. This is the case with the issue of the release of [Armenian] captives, this is the case with the maintenance of the ceasefire regime and the non-use of force and the threat of force, on which the written agreement was reached on October 31, 2022 in Sochi, this is the case in the matter of the Lachin corridor’s illegal blockade, which Azerbaijan continues despite also the February 22 decision of the highest international court instance, the International Court of Justice. But in case of not fulfilling the court's decision, there are internationally defined mechanisms, and our efforts should be focused on the implementation of those mechanisms," the Armenian premier stressed.
