Armenian Parliament speaker says legitimate border crucial for peace with Azerbaijan

Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan has said that the guarantee of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is a legitimate and mutually recognised border.

"Can anyone name me an Armenian settlement that is under the control of the Azerbaijani side in this section? If there is, let them name it. I can name the villages that Azerbaijan is talking about. But I would like to understand our critics, or can you name our villages that are not under our control?" Caliber.Az quotes Simonyan as addressing a briefing on April 25.

Responding to journalists' comments that the prime minister was referring to more than 30 villages, Simonyan said that he was referring exclusively to "vital territories" and not settlements.

Simonyan noted that after the return of the villages to Azerbaijan, the territories in Tavush (Tovuzgala - ed.) "are even more protected, as no one will try to challenge the ownership of our territory".

According to the speaker's estimates, security is guaranteed not by the positions of the Armed Forces, but by the border.

"We can build and fortify positions endlessly, and then they will come and hit us with their Bayraktars and tanks. That is not a guarantee. The guarantee is a legitimate, mutually recognised border. Does anyone really think that we can fight against Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Pakistan from our good positions? It's a question of quantity," the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament believes. По словам армянского спикера, понятие «война» должно быть изъято из мышления и повестки дня как в Армении, так и в Азербайджане. 

"This is the best guarantee," he stated.