Defense Minister reaffirms diplomatic path to restoring sovereignty over occupied territories

Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan reaffirmed on Monday that there is a real opportunity for the border delimitation process to lead to the restoration of sovereign control over parts of Armenian territories currently occupied by Azerbaijan.

Asked at a press briefing whether he sees a real opportunity for Armenia to restore sovereignty over its territories presently occupied by Azerbaijan, Papikyan said, “Of course I do, through the border delimitation and demarcation process.”

The Pashinyan administration has repeatedly ruled out any military action to reclaim Armenia’s sovereign territories, insisting instead that the matter will be resolved diplomatically, through the ongoing border delimitation process.

Some parts of sovereign Armenian territory have been under Azerbaijani occupation since the 1990s. However, most of the occupied territories—200 square kilometers of internationally recognized Armenian territory—have been occupied by Azerbaijan following its unprovoked invasion of Armenia since May 2021, six months after the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War ended.