Head of Armenian village reports Azerbaijan's claims to 12 houses

Azerbaijani officials have performed the demarcation of the border and demanded that a part of the Armenian village of Shurnukh be transferred to Azerbaijan, said the village head. Shurnukh and the village of Vorotan in the Syunik District are disputable areas on the border, Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian Premier, has admitted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the start of talks on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border demarcation, which was not carried out due to the Karabakh conflict, has been scheduled for December.

On December 24, Azerbaijani officials arrived in the village of Shurnukh, Syunik District, to define the border; based on some GPS data, they demanded to transfer a part of the village with 12 houses to Azerbaijan, the "News" edition has reported with reference to Akop Arshakyan, the head of Shurnukh.

These houses are located to the east of the Goris-Kapan road, which runs through the village. "They came with a GPS, took off the tags, showed them to Russians and left," Mr Arshakyan has stated, adding that he was not present at the negotiations – there were Azerbaijani soldiers, Russian border guards and an official of the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia, the "Sputnik Armenia" has reported.

Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian Premier, has admitted that there are two problem dwelling settlements in the Syunik District – Vorotan and Shurnukh. "But I want to assure that in all those cases when questions arise with the protection of Armenian interests, the government will provide full compensation; and our citizens' interests will be protected," the "Sputnik Armenia" has quoted Mr Pashinyan as saying.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 24, 2020 at 09:25 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.