One of the essential issues to be resolved between Azerbaijan and Armenia, who have decided to make peace, is the determination of state borders.
On August 8, the foreign ministers of the two countries initialed the text of the agreement on peace and the establishment of interstate relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. According to the initialed agreement, the parties confirm that the borders among the former Soviet Union republics, which dissolved in 1991, have transformed into the international borders of the respective independent states and have been recognized as such by the international community; they recognize each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of international borders, and political independence.
Therefore, Azerbaijan and Armenia agree to recognize the borders established during the Soviet period as the legal territories of each other.
Considering the borders established during the Soviet period, which, as noted in the mentioned agreement, are also recognized by the international community, four Azerbaijani villages (Kerki in the Sadarak district, Sofulu, Barkhudarly, and Yukhari Askipara villages in the Gazakh district) are under Armenian control. The Bashkend village in the Gadabay district was part of Armenia during the Soviet period. In other words, looking at the Soviet-era borders, one Armenian village is under Azerbaijan's control.
All the villages of Kerki, Sofulu, Barkhudarly, and Yukhari Askipara are surrounded by Armenian territory, while the Bashkend village is surrounded by Azerbaijani territory.
The initialed peace agreement notes that the parties will conduct sincere negotiations between the relevant border commissions to conclude an agreement on the delimitation and demarcation of the state border.
The vice prime ministers Shahin Mustafayev and Mger Grigoryan lead the commissions on clarifying the state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
How will the delimitation and demarcation of the borders be carried out? Will Azerbaijan return the Bashkend village to Armenia in exchange for the return of Kerki, Sofulu, Barkhudarly, and Yukhari Askipara villages to Azerbaijan?
Is mutual renunciation of enclaved villages, i.e., territorial exchange, possible?
Aziz Alibeyli, head of the Media and Communication Department of the Social Research Center, who answered questions from Medianews.az, first noted that the villages of Kerki, Sofulu, Barkhudarly, and Yukhari Askipara, currently under Armenian occupation, are not only legitimate, ancient Azerbaijani land but also villages of strategic importance: “The central strategic road from Iran to Armenia passes through Kerki village in the Sadarak district. After Kerki is returned, Azerbaijan will have control over this road. The villages of Sofulu, Barkhudarly, and Yukhari Askipara in the Gazakh district allow monitoring the Armenia-Georgia road. That is, after the four aforementioned villages are returned, two key strategic points of Armenia will come under Azerbaijani control. From this perspective, the return of these villages to Azerbaijan is very important both for the full restoration of our territorial integrity and strategically for us. Armenia has, in principle, agreed to the liberation of the four villages during the delimitation and demarcation process of the borders.”
“But if you ask whether we should give Bashkend to Armenia in return? Absolutely not! Azerbaijan cannot compromise on this issue. If the Armenian side, including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, brings up the issue of giving Bashkend to Armenia (not returning, but precisely giving it), and tries to keep this issue relevant, then Azerbaijan may also consider some matters raised during the negotiations. These include, for instance, claims related to war crimes, cases in international courts, and similar issues,” he said.
According to A. Alibeyli, the pressure on Armenia is so strong that it cannot be treated as an equal sovereign state: “At the same time, from the text of the agreement initialed by the foreign ministers on August 8, it is also clear that there are still issues to be discussed and probably even debated for a substantial peace to be achieved. These must be resolved. But this cannot be in exchange for giving Bashkend to the Armenians, Azerbaijan cannot benefit from such a compromise. Azerbaijan is the victorious country. Giving the Bashkend village of Gadabay district to Armenia would mean, strategically, the control of not only Gadabay but also Tovuz, Shamkir, and practically territories up to Ganja passing under Armenian control. This can never be an acceptable condition for President Ilham Aliyev, who conducts a strategy and communication war. Because the essence of the current struggle of the President is precisely to maintain a winning position in the strategy and communication war and to strengthen these positions further.”
Nailə Qasımova,
Medianews.az
