This is also our agenda because having demarcated and delimited borders is almost the same as having a gate around the country. This is what Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said while introducing the newly appointed defense minister and touching upon the topic of demarcation and delimitation of borders.

“During the election campaign ahead of the snap parliamentary elections, I stated several times that this is our agenda. You recall the leakage of the so-called ‘horrifying’ document and when I declared in government that Armenia accepts and will accept this agenda, and my stance remains unchanged. Even during the discussion on the document, the government said it doesn’t accept the presence of Azerbaijani troops in our territory and the implementation of demarcation and delimitation in these conditions. Back then, we had proposed these conditions to solve the problem and move forward. I believe Armenia’s stances are in line with the positions of the international community that the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have expressed in several statements after November 2020. It is also very important to state the fact that, with their April 13 statement, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have stated the need for a settlement of the conflict on the basis of the principles and elements that are known to the sides. In this sense, I must also state that Armenia’s approaches and positions are in line with those of the international community,” Pashinyan stated.

Pashinyan recorded the fact that the authorities have received a mandate from the citizens of Armenia to start a new era for peaceful development of Armenia and the region. “We are resolute to take this path, but we must state the fact that, unfortunately, it doesn’t only depend on Armenia. Unfortunately, peace depends on the extent to which Armenia and the international community will be able to make the countries posing a threat to peace in the region be constructive, but Armenia needs to be maximally constructive as well so that we can implement the mandate given by the people, but, of course, never at the expense of the national and state interests of Armenia,” Pashinyan said and emphasized that the key objective is to make reforms in the Armed Forces with maximum momentum.