Border demarcation continues unchanged from the north

PanARMENIAN.Net - The direction of border demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains unchanged and will continue from the north, starting at the tripoint of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, extending southward to the borders with Iran.

This was announced by Sargis Khandanyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the Armenian National Assembly, as he presented details from last weekend’s meeting between the two countries' demarcation commissions, according to RFE/RL

“The principle remains the same as agreed in January this year. It hasn’t changed. However, there may be practical needs arising from the unblocking of transport communications. As you may recall, in September, the heads of the demarcation commissions held meetings in the territories of both Armenia and Azerbaijan. They studied areas where potential infrastructure might pass, and in such cases, limited demarcation in certain short segments might be needed to avoid issues during planning and construction,” Khandanyan explained.

When asked whether this means there won’t be early demarcation in Syunik for the TRIPP project, the ruling party MP Khandanyan responded that the two matters are unrelated.

“That would be an additional or parallel process,” he said.

As for when practical demarcation work will begin in already agreed-upon segments, Khandanyan did not provide exact dates but assured that concrete work is ongoing.

“Besides working with documents and maps, there will naturally be a need for field studies and adjustments. I assume that, depending on weather conditions and other factors, the work will continue in the coming months. I cannot give specific timelines,” he said.

The next meeting of the border demarcation commissions will be held in an Armenian city, though the date and location are yet to be determined.

Although the Armenia-Azerbaijan border commissions decided at the start of this year which segments would be demarcated, following the Washington agreements, the Prime Minister and other relevant officials mentioned early demarcation. According to Armenian authorities, this is necessary for implementing the Trump Route in Syunik. About two weeks ago, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan stated in parliament that these agreements provide an additional incentive to move forward with the process.

In September, demarcation commission heads Mher Grigoryan and Shahin Mustafayev paid mutual visits to Syunik and Zangilan. Their most recent meeting was held in Gabala, Azerbaijan. The official statement released afterward made no mention of early demarcation; it merely reaffirmed the existing agreement to proceed from north to south and noted discussions on draft guidelines needed for the process.