The well-known enclaves are not included in Armenia's 29,743 square kilometers of territory. Artsvashen village is included, but the Soviet-era enclaves are not. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this during an international conference, entitled “Comprehensive Security & Resilience – 2026,” on Thursday.

According to Pashinyan, if Armenia says that its sovereign territory is 29,753 square kilometers, then it is going beyond the framework of international legitimacy by 10 square kilometers at the expense of someone else and giving the latter legitimacy to take actions against it.

He assured that the Armenian authorities, relying on international legitimacy, deprive everyone of the legitimacy to take actions against Armenia.

"Does this mean a solid guarantee? No, it does not. Therefore, a comprehensive approach is important. Legitimacy is the first layer, the second is interconnectedness. It is often said that Armenia does a lot, but Azerbaijan does not. In this regard, the most obvious [thing] is that the Azerbaijani railway is open to Armenia in both directions. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan does not use the Armenian railway at the moment. Therefore, according to this logic, the Azerbaijani railway should not have been open to Armenia," Pashinyan noted.

The Armenian premier emphasized the importance of the component of “international legitimacy.” He stressed that if relations are legitimate, then they do not contain an element of threat, but if there is an element of illegitimacy in these relations, then they contain a threat.

The prime minister reaffirmed that the army of Armenia operates and develops to protect the sovereign and internationally recognized border of the country. He expressed the opinion that departing from this logic means that Armenia will face serious difficulties and become vulnerable, as a legitimate basis for the actions of others will be created.

“The talk about ‘Kyarki’ [i.e. the Azerbaijani name for the ‘enclave’ of Tigranashen village] is linked to this. We say that the Alma-Ata declaration is a fundamental principle in the [Armenia-Azerbaijan] border delimitation and demarcation issue. This means the complete identity of the territory of Armenia with the territory of the Armenian SSR, which Armenia recognized even before [the revolution in] 2018, adopting the Law On Land Balance, where the territory of the country is indicated as 29,743 square kilometers. And to say that there is no ‘Kyarki’ means departing from the logic of the 29,743 square kilometers,” the Armenian premier said.

He considered it very important for Armenia to be involved in the global supply chain, so that other countries will think that if something happens in Armenia, they will also suffer.

In his assessment, Armenia has received a unique opportunity to achieve such interconnection within the framework of unblocking regional communications and implementing the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) regional transport project.

Also, Nikol Pashinyan expressed confidence that thanks to the development of energy technology, Armenia can become 100 percent self-sufficient in terms of energy.