Yerevan says enclave issue will not prevent signing of peace agreement with Baku

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said the enclave and exclave issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not an obstacle to signing the initialled peace agreement. Speaking at a press briefing, he called the matter sensitive but noted it is not among the conditions Azerbaijan has publicly raised for signing the treaty.

Mirzoyan said any exchange of territories would require approval through a nationwide referendum. He acknowledged that enclaves complicate life for countries, at least from a technical standpoint, even when relations are excellent. He argued that Baku had raised constitutional amendments in Armenia as a condition for signing, but had not made resolving the enclave issue a prerequisite.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had earlier indicated that exchanging enclaves was among the options under negotiation with Azerbaijan. On October 16, Alen Simonyan confirmed that no agreement had yet been reached and said discussions included exchanging Tigranashen, known in Azerbaijan as Karki, for Artsvashen, known in Azerbaijan as Bashkend. He noted Artsvashen is slightly smaller than the combined area of three Soviet-era Azerbaijani enclaves in Armenia, and insisted no Armenian territory had been or would be surrendered.