Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said today that the issue of enclaves/exclaves is being discussed in the process of Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization.

“One of the principles of peace is the recognition of the territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan based on the territories of Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan.

When we say Armenia’s territory of 29,800 square meters, it does not include the exclaves/enclaves that belonged to Azerbaijan during the Soviet Union, but it includes Artsvashen, which is an exclave surrounded by the territory of Soviet Azerbaijan.

Artsvashen is a sovereign territory of Armenia. When we raise the issue of Artsvashen, Azerbaijan, in turn, raises the issue of the enclaves that existed de jure by the maps of the USSR,” said Nikol Pashinyan.

He noted that options for solving the issue are being discussed:

“First, it is necessary to demarcate the territory of that exclave, to reconfirm again how much the territory of that exclave is. A question arises there: since we do not have a direct border with Artsvashen, how are we going to cross from our border to the border of Artsvashen, and accordingly, Azerbaijan to its territory? This problem can find another solution: the exclaves/enclaves that are in the territory of Armenia are de jure considered the territory of Armenia, and those that are surrounded by the territory of Azerbaijan are considered the territory of Azerbaijan. This is the subject of a concrete agreement, which must be ratified by the Armenian parliament.”