I have long said that we cannot abandon the topic of enclaves and exclaves, since we ourselves have such a problem, and every citizen can expect that we will fundamentally and consistently strive for the restoration of the sovereign territory and territorial integrity of Armenia, especially now, and we will achieve it, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at a press briefing Thursday.

At the same time, he recalled that he had earlier said that Armenia did not have any legal basis at its disposal—regarding the presence of Azerbaijani enclaves on the territory of Armenia. Pashinyan explained that the Azerbaijanis had said at that time that they will submit legal grounds.

“We have agreed that, based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, we recognize each other’s territorial integrity,” the Armenian PM noted, in particular.

He added that now the two parties must clarify through maps and other legal grounds what this “territorial integrity” means—although, in general, the parties know—including the issues of exclaves and enclaves.

Pashinyan called it logical that if there is a legal basis, then it exists.

“What can we do? Can this create other problems in parallel if these legal grounds exist? The border delimitation and demarcation commissions [of Armenia and Azerbaijan] have not yet addressed this matter substantively, but at some point they will address it. If there is a legal basis, then it exists. If there is no legal basis, then it does not exist. That is, we don’t need to create something new. If there is a legal basis based on the Alma-Ata Declaration, then that fact must be accepted," the Armenian premier concluded.