It is well-known that the provisions regarding respect for territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders, as stipulated in the 8 December 1991 Agreement on the Creation of the CIS and the 21 December 1991 Almaty Declaration, do not pertain to the issue of what the actual borders are between the CIS member states or which territories are included within each state, and thus the Almaty Declaration cannot be considered a confirmation of Armenia's “good intentions”, said a spokesperson for Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry Aykhan Hajizada, in response to statements by the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman justifying Armenia's militarization and alleged “threats” from Azerbaijan, AzVision.az reports.
“It could not be denied that Armenia ratified the CIS founding agreement on 18 February 1992 with reservations. Moreover, Armenia officially announced its intention to make reservations as early as 26 December 1991, when the Supreme Council of Armenia ratified the Protocol to the CIS founding agreement. Clause 10 of the Supreme Council’s decision of 18 February 1992 on the ratification of the CIS founding agreement clearly indicates that the Republic of Armenia considered the so-called “Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh to be an independent state with the right to join the CIS.”
Following this decision by the Supreme Council, Armenia has never recognized “Nagorno-Karabakh” as part of Azerbaijan, a stance that was reaffirmed in the Decision of the Supreme Council of 8 July 1992 and further solidified in the Constitution of Armenia of 5 July 1995. Without judgment, whether it was necessary to submit the reservation to the attention of other contracting parties or not, and whether Armenia acted as such or not, the reservations are part of Armenia’s legislation that cannot be denied.
Accordingly, also considering the already existing claim in the constitution of Armenia against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan upon joining the Almaty Declaration and its reservations, Armenia excluded the recognition of “Nagorno-Karabakh” as part of Azerbaijan. Therefore, statements that Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan have no legal ground until Armenia makes changes to its constitution and renounces all the legal and political acts that reflect its claim to Azerbaijan.
Also, taking into account the history when Armenia has conducted aggression against Azerbaijan while joining the Almaty Declaration, is it time to ask for clarification on what is meant by the “recognition of each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty along the administrative borders of the former Soviet republics” for Armenia back in 1992 and now?'' the commentary reads.
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