Armenia and Azerbaijan should exchange territories, Pashinyan says

Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan said that, under the Alma-Ata Declaration, delimitation and demarcation of the border should leave Armenia with an area of 29,743 km². He said there should be no enclaves or exclaves on either side of the border, and that the two countries should exchange territories “on an equal basis.”

Pashinyan also said he supports opening all roads and communications, including transit routes through Azerbaijani territory from Armenia to Armenia and through Armenian territory from Azerbaijan to Azerbaijan. He added that Yerevan and Baku should fully waive all claims against each other, and he referred to both the “Karabakh, Gardman, Shirvan, Nakhchivan” logic and the “Western Azerbaijan” logic.

Pashinyan called whether peace can be brought to this form the most important issue. After talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Turkmenistan, he said he got an initial impression that such an opportunity exists. “In the near future we will work to realize this opportunity and make it a reality,” he said. The sides preliminarily agreed on the first section of the border in April 2024, and in August 2025 the foreign ministries published a draft peace treaty. Azerbaijani officials have not yet responded.