Armenia-Azerbaijan. Will there be an enclave exchange?

Soviet cartography of Nikol Pashinyan’s government and: «of the peace agenda» about twists and turns

Recently, the topic of enclaves in the territory of Armenia and Azerbaijan has been somewhat pushed to the background, but there is no doubt՝ after the June parliamentary elections, the topic of border demarcation will definitely return to the current agenda. Thus, Doctor of Political Sciences Artur Khachikyan is publishing the possible scenario of territorial concessions in favor of the neighbors, starting with the early handing over of the enclave of Tigranashen (Kyark), «which will cut the North-South strategic road, cutting off Syunik from the north»։

And it seems that the events are leading to it. Under the “peaceful” calls of Pashinyan and his teammates, the village of Tigranashen leaves the impression of an empty and uncertain settlement., is noted In the latest report of Lurer periodical. The territory of the village at the foot of Tezhkar (Ghez’l-Dash) mountain, which is about 8-10 km from the border village of Nakhichevan, is 960 hectares, the total exclave is almost 1430 hectares.

According to official data, there are about 40 houses in Tigranashen, through which passes the strategic road connecting the Ararat Valley to Vaik and Syunik, but most of them are either empty or inhabited by elderly people. As a result of the visit of the activists of the “Non-Western Azerbaijan” movement Suren Surenyantsi and Hayk Nahapetyan to the village, a manifesto was prepared, listing the problems and demands regarding the security and future of the village in the context of the “peace process” between Baku and Yerevan.

According to Baku’s version, Kyarki is located in the Ararat Marz of Armenia, within the borders of the Sadarak region of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic under the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan, and “657 square meters of Nakhichevan in the Soviet period. km territory was illegally handed over to Armenia.” It is noted that on February 18, 1929, by the decision of the Central Electoral Commission of the Central Executive Committee of the Transcaucasian Soviet Socialist Republic, 10 villages of the Nakhichevan region were handed over to Armenia, which allegedly grossly violated the terms of the Moscow Treaty of March 16, 1921 and the Kars Treaty of October 13, 1921.

In 1930, 3 more villages were joined to Armenia: Lehvaz, Astazur and Aldara, as well as Kyark. According to the decision of the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan on May 5, 1938, a significant part of the surrounding lands of that village was transferred to Armenia, which led to the complete isolation of Kyarki from the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Nakhichevan.

at the same time according to former RA Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan conclusions published by some mapsի՝ «the village never had the status of an enclave and from the beginning was not only part of the First Republic of Armenia, but also part of Soviet Armenia. The village was called Karke (Kyar in Azerbaijanic:in).

Another Armenian village, Genu, was located in the immediate vicinity of Tigranashenthe with the name, which was also a part of Soviet Armenia. the name is derived from the evergreen tree. Over the years, the village has been divided into two parts, Turkish J:as a result of the resettlement of representatives of the Afarlu clan, and received Jafarlu and Geight the names. For example, from 1926 c:Artezner village was part of the territory of Soviet Armenia…

The same applies to the historical Armenian villages of Tavush. ohfor example, Voskepari, which, both in 1918-1920 and in the Soviet years, was in Ijevan region: In Barani region.

Misrepresentation of historical facts, blatant disregard for the rights and safety of border residents, lessons learned from history, and blatantly unprofessional interpretations have for decades deprived us of the legal basis to protect the rights and interests of our citizens, endangering the security of our country.”

A convincing answer there is none to the question of when exactly and: on the basis of which documents these or those enclaves appeared. most likely, they areand:were formed elementally due to the ethno-religious composition of the population of one or another region and: its economic and: with the characteristics of economic activity։

“Until 1936, no Azerbaijani enclave existed on the territory of Armenia on Soviet maps.” continues the topic is the famous Armenian cartographer Ruben Galchyan. “For the first time only in 1936, the official map of the Transcaucasia was published, on which the first two Azerbaijani enclaves appeared, in the Tavush region of Armenia, and another such area, the present-day Tigranashen, in the Ararat region, was marked on the map in 1939”, but on another Soviet map published a year later, there are all enclaves except Kyarki.

1940ssorry last and: Later, the leadership of the Armenian SSR proposed to Baku to include the exclave in Armeniaand:from the town of Zod on the southeast coastand:outlet in front of a larger area (moreover, according to unofficial information, a Kurdish autonomous district within the Armenian SSR was previously planned here as a replacement for the much larger and more populated similar region (“Red Kurdistan”) between Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian SSR within Azerbaijan in 1923-32. There was also an unrealized project for a 20 percent territorial expansion of that district, development of social infrastructure, food industry, and cotton cultivation there). However, Baku did not plan to eliminate Yerand:60 km of the direct road to that Azerbaijani exclave, not accepting the exchange offers.

By the way, the same question, two neighbors «fraternal» between republicsand: in the context of broader demarcation, in his extensive letter to Khrushchev put Honored Art Worker of the ASSR and: Honored Architect of the USSR MrRafael Israelyan, winner of the post-prize on July 20, 1962, with whomand:came the short answer: “It will come againthe bowl» (by the way, during the same period, Khrushchev initiated a project to transfer the lands of Northern Kazakhstan to the RSFSR):…

The escalation of the Karabakh conflict on the border in the 1980s and 1990s was naturally followed by armed clashes between the Armenian and Azerbaijani SSRs along the entire border, including in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Region. The residents of Kyarki moved to the adjacent territory, where they built the village of Yeni Kyarki 1992-in: In August, units of the new Azerbaijani army occupied the Artsvashen (Bashkend) enclave of the Krasnoselsk region of Armenia, which was to be returned has hope Pashinyan’s government՝ within the framework of a hypothetical exchange of enclaves (in: by the way, hardly any of the former residents or their descendants will return there). According to Galchyan՝ «will be the most logical solution to the question «The exchange of the Armenian Artsvashen enclave with the Azerbaijani one»: Otherwise, if the parties return their enclaves, a whole complex of problems related to their access will arise, and therefore full of conflict, in which case (we would add) Baku will most likely act from a position of force or the direct threat of its use.

The above residents of Tigranashen publicfrom the letter follows՝ one of the most painful problems remains educational. As a result of the youth exodus, only 4 children currently attend the local school. According to the current regulations, schools that do not reach the minimum number of students will be closed. and: From September 1, 2026, the local school will also suffer the same fate. In addition, the villagers have no place to work, which forces them to leave their homes in search of a livelihood, whichn “further aggravates the demographic situation and accelerates the process of settlement emptying»:

And the residents consider the main and most worrying problem to be the houses and: for plots of landand:lack of formal ownership. In many cases, the state does not issue appropriate certificates, which actually deprives people of legal guarantees and: does not allow to talk about either development or long-term investments in the village. According to Hayk Nahapetyan՝ such an approach may be linked to the future of the area politically and: with legal uncertainty, because if the state officially recognizes the property rights of citizens, then in the case of possible territorial solutions, a serious legal conflict will arise»: It has a direct impact and: standard of living and: on the development prospects of the whole community». He does not increase confidence in tomorrowand: A premiseand:available by hidden the threat.

Lack of property rights, socio-economic difficulties and security problems are a closed circleand:formation, from which the village stilland:he sees no way out. An impression is created that Tigranashen is preparing one way or another as a result of the June vote of CP if successfuland:hand them over։ However, for now, that success is far from being a fact, and the second stage provided for by the current Constitution is not at all excluded…

Alexey Baliand:

vpoanalytics.com

Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan

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