Principle of recognizing each other’s territorial integrity included in all stages of Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations: FM Mirzoyan

The fundamental principle of mutual recognition of the territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan has been clearly expressed at all stages of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict negotiation process, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said during the Parliament-Government question-and-answer session.

While responding to criticism that “the authorities are using the document on the dissolution of Nagorno-Karabakh to cover up the fact of recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan in Prague in 2022,” the FM said: 

"I must state something that is, on the one hand, a well-known fact, and on the other hand, something that relevant officials have long refused to publicly acknowledge -perhaps so that the mood would not drop. That fact is the following: the Republic of Armenia has never recognized the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.”

He noted that almost simultaneously with the dissolution of the USSR, by signing the Almaty Declaration, the Republic of Armenia recognized the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within the borders that existed at the time of the USSR’s collapse.

“Moreover, this fundamental principle of mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity has been clearly expressed at all stages of the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process from the very beginning. It is reflected in all major documents, including the Madrid Principles,” Mirzoyan emphasized.

According to him, territorial integrity was one of the Madrid Principles, and the right to self-determination was understood within the framework of territorial integrity.

Mirzoyan added that the principle of recognizing territorial integrity in line with the Almaty Declaration is also reflected in later negotiation documents and statements resulting from meetings held in various formats, including the 2022 Prague quadrilateral statement.

He stressed that the same principle is also included in the regulations governing the work of the Armenian and Azerbaijani border delimitation commissions, which were signed and entered into force on August 30, 2024.

“This very principle is also reflected in the agreed text of the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Mirzoyan said.