Subject of delimitation of Azerbaijani-Armenian interstate border ‘shrouded in complexity’ - political analyst

The subject of the delimitation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian interstate border is one shrouded in complexity, stemming from the lack of a uniformly understood normative foundation, political analyst Orkhan Amashov told News.Az.  

He noted that since the border between the two sides has never been properly delimited, let alone demarcated, even the reference to the Alma-Ata Declaration is insufficient per se.

“Two sets of factors need to be taken into account: the facts on the ground - the positions held by the sides at present and the recourse to archival maps, upon which Baku and Yerevan have yet to agree,” Amashov said.

“Any claim that, as a result of the border escalations throughout 2021-22, Azerbaijan has violated Armenia’s territorial integrity and should therefore relinquish the positions held has not been legally substantiated, for the former has acted within the “grey undelimited zone”, giving rise to outcomes that are irrevocable so long as Baku does not give in to any pressure - my feeling is that there is no glimmer of a flickering probability that Azerbaijani will decide to retrench militarily at any section of the interstate border,” he concluded.

Amashov stressed that delimitation is a long and arduous process, underpinned by a range of technicalities.

“It is not obligatory to finalise the entire delimitation process before signing a final peace treaty. In fact, it is not unthinkable for states to engender an acceptable level of diplomatic relations without their borders being fully and conclusively delimited. In our case, given the volatility and recurrent tensions, the parties will need to agree on some basic principles - in other words, to achieve an accord of some critical sufficiency - prior to signing a peace treaty,” the political analyst added.

News.Az 

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