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Issues pertaining to enclaves and exclaves between Armenia and Azerbaijan must be resolved exclusively as part of the delimitation and demarcation process, a senior lawmaker said.
MP Sargis Khandanyan, the Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of Parliament, was asked to comment on reports about possible exchange of such territories between the sides.
He said the matter must be addressed within the framework of the delimitation and demarcation process. “There is no issue being concealed here. The question of an exchange cannot be considered at this stage, because the enclaves first need to be demarcated. When that will happen is not known, as the demarcation process still needs to continue and follows its own logic,” the MP said.
According to him, the delimitation process is complex and involves several stages: delimitation, approval of the relevant agreements, signing of a treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the state border, its ratification, and the implementation of border demarcation work.
“After that, Armenia and Azerbaijan will need to decide how to address the issue of the enclaves. If at any stage it is decided that Armenia and Azerbaijan should exchange territories, then under the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, this cannot be carried out without a referendum; a referendum would be required for that matter,” Khandanyan emphasized.
In response to journalists’ question on whether Azerbaijan has presented the legal basis regarding the enclaves, Khandanyan said that such issues should be addressed within the work of the demarcation commissions.
He recalled that the last meeting of the commissions took place in September and focused on the TRIPP project, while the issue of the enclaves, he suggested, will be discussed in future sessions.
“This matter is entirely within the scope of the commissions. There is no political or geopolitical subtext here,” Khandanyan concluded.