Pashinyan called Armenia's rejection of Soviet borders a rejection of statehood

Armenia's renunciation of the borders that existed during the Soviet era is tantamount to the renunciation of its statehood and sovereignty. This was stated by the republic's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday, December 12.

"The rejection of the USSR-era maps may mean the rejection of statehood and independence, because we gained our independence on the territory of Soviet Armenia and the international community. Joining our internationally recognized territory is an important security buffer for us," he wrote in his Telegram channel.

He claims that Armenia's vague definition and non-recognition of its international borders leads to the fact that other countries do not recognize them either, Gazeta.Ru added.

Earlier, on October 23, it became known that the Armenian National Assembly ratified the provisions on border delimitation with Azerbaijan in the first reading. 67 deputies voted for the adoption of the draft. They assume that disputes between the republics will be resolved not militarily or by force, but on a special platform.

On August 30, Yerevan and Baku signed a provision on joint activities of commissions on border delimitation. Later, political scientist Artur Ataev told Izvestia that the peace agreement between the countries does not guarantee a complete cessation of hostilities in the future, the document will only stabilize the situation for a while.

Prior to that, on July 20, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed fears that Armenia's documents stipulating territorial claims to the republic could become a barrier to the conclusion of a peace agreement.

Relations between the two countries have been aggravated also against the backdrop of disputed ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh. On October 5, 2023, Pashinyan signed a declaration recognizing Azerbaijan's borders, which included Nagorno-Karabakh. Despite this, there are still periodic armed clashes on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia.