Armenia ready to start border demarcation with Azerbaijan
The Armenian Security Council secretary, Armen Grigoryan, has said that Armenia is ready to start border delimitation and demarcation works, and is waiting for "positive signals" from Azerbaijan.
Grigoryan added that Armenia and Azerbaijan should pull out their troops from the disputed border areas before demarcation starts. He said that the Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani trilateral working group was discussing what maps should be used for border delimitation.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not rule out using Soviet-era maps showing the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan for demarcation.
On 27 October, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan told MPs that the trilateral working group was discussing the restoration of the railway in southern Armenia which operated between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Soviet times. He said that the restoration of motorways was not being discussed.
Commenting on the unblocking of transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in parliament on 27 October that the Soviet-era railways and roads should be reopened and become available for the countries in the region.
"I believe that this is an important component of security because when these communications and the economy start to work, it creates a certain guarantee of security and peace. We believe that the opening of communications should have this logic, this goal," Pashinyan stated.
The trilateral working group is "discussing specific ways in which this should be done," he said.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a border standoff since mid-May after the reported movement of the Azerbaijani troops into two sections of Armenia's state border - one in the Syunik region and the other in the Gegharkunik region.