Yerevan and Baku should first take steps to improve security and stability on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, said Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan.

His remarks came during the session of the National Assembly on Wednesday, answering the questions of the MPs.

Only after, according to the Prime Minister, can work begin on the creation of a commission to delimit the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

"You know that the trilateral written statement adopted in Sochi on 26 November 2021, signed by the Presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and me, states that the parties have agreed to take all necessary steps to increase stability and security on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, and to work towards the establishment of a bilateral commission to delimit the state border. As we are interested in this aspect, we have to stick to our commitments. We made a proposal. Our idea is the mirror withdrawal of troops," Pashinyan said.

He explained the idea of a mirror withdrawal.

"This means that troops should be withdrawn to an equal distance from the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, after which protection of the border should be handed over to a limited number of border guards. At the same time, there should be international monitoring to ensure the implementation of the agreements. But the next fundamental question that arises is: Is there a state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan? Our answer to this question is unequivocally positive. Yes, because in Soviet times there was a border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It was delimited. However, with the 1991 agreement on the formation of the CIS, which was ratified by parliaments of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, these borders were recognized. Therefore, we believe that these agreements should be implemented according to this principle. At the same time, we are ready to listen to other proposals, other ideas," the Prime Minister said.

According to him, there is a lot of unfounded speculation on this subject.

"They say villages will be left unprotected, there is nothing of the sort, and everything has been taken into account in the package of proposals. We must also acknowledge that the proposal we are making is not 100% convenient for Armenia or inconvenient for Azerbaijan. There is a border line, and we believe that the withdrawal of troops should be carried out exactly along this border line. Having said this, it must be noted that this does not prejudge any further results of demarcation. However, this should be a subject of appropriate negotiations. I think that these proposals are based on legitimate and legal realities. I believe it is very important that the essence of these proposals is duly presented to the international community by our parliamentary partners, as a wrong interpretation of this situation, by some forces, could be used to provoke a new escalation at the border. It is very important for us to record the legitimate and legal realities, to record that there is an effective mechanism that will prevent further escalation," the head of the government said.

The document on the creation of the CIS, to which Pashinyan refers, does not recognize the Soviet borders at all. The document says in black and white that the existing borders are recognized.