Enclaves and peace talks dominate Armenia’s agenda

The main political, economic and social developments in Armenia over the past week have highlighted an intense and demanding schedule for the country in both domestic governance and foreign diplomacy.

On the domestic policy and economic fronts, attention focused on parliamentary sessions, the implementation of socio-economic projects and the industrial sector. The launch ceremony for the Amulsar gold mine project, along with speeches by senior government officials, was one of the week’s most closely watched events. On the one hand, the project has been viewed as a means of increasing state budget revenues and creating new jobs. On the other, it has prompted debate over its environmental impact and concerns among local communities. Meanwhile, delays in transport infrastructure development and problems with bus service intervals in the capital, Yerevan, remained major sources of public dissatisfaction.

The ongoing peace agenda in the South Caucasus and regional security issues also remained central to Armenia’s political discourse throughout the week. Armenian officials, particularly representatives of the Foreign Ministry and government, made various statements concerning the text of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, the legal foundations of the delimitation and demarcation process, and the ratification of the regulations governing the joint work of the delimitation commissions. At the same time, positions on reopening regional transport and communication routes, as well as establishing border and customs control mechanisms in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and jurisdiction, were actively debated amid mediation initiatives by international partners.

Particular attention was drawn to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s remarks on enclaves and exclaves. In his statements, Pashinyan said that, if delimitation were carried out on the basis of the Alma-Ata Declaration and the parties recognised each other’s territorial integrity — with Armenia’s territory amounting to 29,743 square kilometres — the optimal outcome would be to ensure that no enclaves or exclaves remained on either side of the border.

The prime minister said the status of existing enclaves could be resolved through a mechanism involving the exchange of equivalent areas of land as part of the delimitation and demarcation process. He also stressed that any such step must be supported by a full legal justification and implemented in accordance with the principle of safeguarding state sovereignty.

In international and regional affairs, events held in Yerevan and high-level contacts with representatives of international organisations were among the week’s key developments. Discussions focused on restoring regional transport links, infrastructure projects and relations with foreign partners. Decisions such as establishing a working group on railway concession management with Russia also brought foreign dependencies and partnerships in the infrastructure sector back into the spotlight.

In the information and security sectors, the protection of digital resources, the fight against disinformation, and the use of new technologies and artificial intelligence tools were among the main topics of discussion. Meanwhile, law enforcement activities, including efforts to maintain public order, operations against crime and arrests, formed part of the domestic social and security agenda.

Overall, the past week in Armenia was marked by efforts to accelerate domestic economic projects, an intensification of diplomatic statements on the peace process — including enclaves and border delimitation — and various steps aimed at addressing infrastructure problems.

Jala Rovshan