RA NA delegation participates in the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna.
Sargis Khandanyan, head of the RA NA delegation, and chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, made a speech at the assembly.
“Mr. President,
You presented your vision for this committee’s draft report. Of course, we will have time and opportunity before our annual session to be held in Bucharest to contribute to this report and the draft resolution, but I would like to emphasize the importance of including the principles of the regulation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the text. Those principles are as follows.
Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to recognize each other’s territorial integrity based on the 1991 Almaty Declaration.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to implement the border demarcation between the two countries on the political basis of the 1991 Almaty Declaration.
The two countries have agreed to unblock transport and economic ties, on the basis of respect for the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries, on the principle of reciprocity and equality.
The above principles were agreed and reaffirmed by the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Prague in 2022, in Brussels last year and in Munich a few days ago. After these meetings, Armenia reaffirmed at the highest level its commitments on these fundamental points for the early settlement of relations. It is very important, dear partners, to continue to call on Azerbaijan to firmly adhere to these principles and participate in the peace process based on these agreements, without further delays and demands, including territorial claims against Armenia.
Adherence to the principles of the Almaty Declaration is paramount to this process. 12 Soviet republics, joining this declaration and becoming sovereign states, recognized territorial integrity, inviolability of borders and each other’s sovereignty. And thus, with the adoption of the Almaty Declaration, the existing administrative borders between the Soviet republics became state borders.
This principle is relevant not only in the context of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also fundamental for respecting the territorial integrity of other post-Soviet republics, including Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova,” said Sargis Khandanyan.
