Are there documents on the transfer of Tigranashen’s territory to the Azerbaijan SSR? Deputy prime minister’s office responds

The office of Mher Grigoryan, Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Armenian delimitation commission, has responded to a request from Sputnik Armenia about documents relating to the Soviet-era transfer of Tigranashen to the Azerbaijan SSR.

The editorial team asked whether the Armenian or Azerbaijani side has an official document on the transfer of the territory of the former Azerbaijani enclave from the Armenian SSR.

Sputnik Armenia also asked whether the 1:100,000-scale topographic maps of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, used for the Tavush section, will be used in further border delimitation.

The deputy prime minister’s office gave no direct answer to these questions, referring instead to the Regulation on Joint Activities of the delimitation commissions. The document provides for the use of “all cartographic, as well as regulatory, legal and other legally substantiated documents.”

“Work on delimiting individual sections of the Armenia–Azerbaijan state border, including enclaves and exclaves, will be carried out in accordance with the Regulation on Joint Activities of the Commission on Delimitation of the State Border and Border Security between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Commission on Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia,” Grigoryan’s office said.

The office also noted that the commissions’ activities are covered in accordance with the rules governing joint meetings and working sessions.

The deputy prime minister’s office reminded that officials serving on the commissions, when referring to documents from meetings and working sessions, may reproduce only the content of agreed and approved media statements.

“Any official reference to the results of meetings and joint working sessions that goes beyond the literal content of the media statements, as well as any clarifications or comments on them, is not permitted and is considered invalid,” the press office said.

Thus, the question of whether an official document confirming the transfer of Tigranashen’s territory to the Azerbaijan SSR exists went unanswered. The deputy prime minister’s office also did not specify which maps will be used in further delimitation.

The topic of Tigranashen has repeatedly come up in the context of the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process. Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia, has previously stated that the territory of the former enclave is not part of the Republic of Armenia, and has also used the Azerbaijani toponym for the settlement. Tigranashen is strategically important: the highway connecting Yerevan and northern Armenia with Vayots Dzor and Syunik runs through this area. The road is also used for freight shipments from Iran to Armenia.