Pashinyan proposes territory swaps to resolve enclave dispute

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed exchanges of territory with Azerbaijan to eliminate enclaves and exclaves on either side of the border. He set out the proposal in a video address on October 14.

Pashinyan said Armenia should retain an area of 29,743 square kilometres. He linked delimitation and demarcation to the Alma-Ata Declaration and said the exchanges should preserve the corresponding territorial areas.

The issue concerns territories separated from their country’s main landmass during the Soviet period, including Armenia’s Artsvashen and former Azerbaijani enclaves within Armenia. Control changed during the confrontation in the early 1990s.

The proposal is Pashinyan’s stated approach, rather than an announced agreement with Baku. The border issue has particular importance for transport because roads through some disputed areas connect Armenia with Iran and Georgia.