Armenia announced the possibility of a referendum on the exchange of territories with Azerbaijan.

No agreements on the exchange of enclaves and exclaves with Azerbaijan have been reached. The decision on the exchange should be put to a nationwide vote, said representatives of the Armenian authorities.

As reported by “Caucasian Knot”, on October 14, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed to resolve the issue of enclaves and exclaves on the border with Azerbaijan by exchanging territories of equal area. According to him, after the delimitation of the border, there should be no enclaves left on either side, and all communications should be unblocked. Pashinyan referred to his preliminary impression from conversations with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Turkmenistan. The proposal by Nikol Pashinyan to exchange territories with Azerbaijan was received ambiguously by political scientists from Armenia interviewed by “Caucasian Knot”, who pointed out legal complexities and security risks. Azerbaijani analysts considered the idea rational, but objected to keeping Artsvashen with Armenia.

The exchange of territories should occur through a nationwide vote, stated the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan.

“If there is a decision that satisfies the societies, then, of course, this will help strengthen trust between the two societies, setting the stage for a future without mines, because an enclave-exclave in any case, even purely technically, even if relations are great, complicates the lives of the countries,” said Mirzoyan.

He explained how the exchange of territories will occur. “Let’s assume that each has 70 sq. km. deep into the territory of the other, either the border shifts a bit and the enclaves disappear, or we say: those 70 - to you, these 70 - to us. It is clear that there will not be exact equality, some adjustments will need to be made. But at the moment, there is no agreement, there is a willingness from both sides to try to resolve this issue in such a way as not to complicate the lives of the two peoples and citizens later,” News.Am quotes him.

There is no agreement with Azerbaijan on the exchange of enclaves and exclaves, confirmed today the Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mger Grigoryan.

According to Grigoryan, all discussions within the framework of the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border are conducted exclusively in the established format, and official messages are published about their conduct and results.

The Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Alen Simonyan also informed that there are currently no agreements on a possible exchange of enclaves and exclaves, only discussions are ongoing.

Artsvashen is ours, there are no disputes here, and the Azerbaijani side has no objections in this regard.

He emphasized that Artsvashen is Armenian.

“Artsvashen is ours, there are no disputes here, and the Azerbaijani side has no objections in this regard. They themselves say that Artsvashen is Armenian,” said Simonyan.