Exchange of statements on border demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan
On 10 May, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov claimed that boundary delimitation with Armenia will include the repatriation of Azerbaijani exclave settlements. The villages of Azerbaijan's Gazakh area and Nakhchivan's Karki should be settled as part of the delimitation process, according to Khalaf Khalafov. The deputy minister emphasised that Armenia will never be able to argue that these settlements are not part of Azerbaijan. "The subject of these areas being returned to Azerbaijan will be discussed as part of the delimitation process. The repatriation of these Azerbaijani-controlled lands will be considered, and a solution will be found," Khalafov continued. He also remarked that the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace negotiations should be undertaken in accordance with Baku's five core principles. According to Khalafov, Armenia committed to a peace treaty and the commencement of the delimitation of the state borders with Azerbaijan following the Brussels summit and the events that preceded it, and efforts are being made in this regard. He emphasised that "Armenia has not yet rejected the five-point proposal."
Earlier, Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan during a briefing at the Armenian parliament presented a possible solution to the problem of enclaves between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“A possible solution is as follows: the enclaves of Armenia remain with Azerbaijan, the enclaves of Azerbaijan, which are located on the territory of Armenia, remain with the Republic of Armenia,” he said. Grigoryan noted that so far, the issue of enclaves between neighbouring Transcaucasian republics has not been raised. “There are enclaves on both sides: on the territory of Azerbaijan there is the enclave of Artsvashen (Bashkand in Azerbaijani), and on the territory of Armenia there are enclaves. Their territories are almost equal,” he said. The administrative head of the country's Security Council also touched upon the issue of establishing a bilateral commission for the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. According to him, discussions between Yerevan and Baku in this direction continue. “We hoped that it would be possible by the end of April to find solutions and move forward, but I can note that intensive discussions on approaches are currently ongoing,” Grigoryan informed, indicating that there are questions that have not yet been answered.