It is necessary to clarify the legal basis before demarcation, otherwise it will be illegal: Ara Papyan

Before a demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan can be done, the legal basis should be defined first, Ara Papyan, the head of the Modus Vivendi center and a member of the National Democratic Axis, told a  news conference today.

“I would like to reiterate that Azerbaijan renounced the Soviet legal basis on the constitutional act of restoration of statehood of October 18, 1991, declaring itself the legal successor of the first republic. And it contained no reference to the current administrative lines as interstate borders. So,  any government body, whether Nikol Pashinyan or parliament, which will try to recognize these administrative borders as state borders, will become a violator of territorial integrity instead of being a guarantor of it; hence, such actions constitute a  crime of treacherous act.

What should be done then? If Azerbaijan considers itself the legal successor of the first republic, Armenia also recognizes itself as the legal successor of the first republic, and there is a civilized way to solve the problem: you should apply to the UN court under the second part of Article 36 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice requesting the court to identify the legal basis on which the border should be determined. After the legal basis is determined, the parties will present their relevant documents, arguments and counterarguments, after that it will be decided. What is being done now is an illegal action imposed on Armenia by our enemy,” Papyan said.