Armenia is ready to recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave as part of Azerbaijan if Baku guarantees the safety of its ethnic Armenian population, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Monday, Reuters reported, citing Russian news agencies and Radio Free Europe.

Nagorno-Karabakh has been a source of conflict between the two Caucasian neighbors for years before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and between ethnic Armenians and Turkish Azerbaijanis for more than a century.

Two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus fought for control of Nagorno-Karabakh in two wars, one in the early 1990s and the other in 2020.

In 2020, Azerbaijan took control of ethnic Armenian-controlled areas in and around the mountainous enclave and has since periodically closed the only access road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, the Lachin Corridor, on which the enclave relies for support. financial and military.

“The territory of Azerbaijan with an area of ​​86,600 square kilometers includes Nagorno-Karabakh,” Pashinyan said at a press conference, reports Ostorogno, Novosti.

If we understand each other correctly, Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within the specified limits, and Baku recognizes the territorial integrity of Armenia on 29,800 square kilometers.”

The newspaper quotes him as saying that he is ready to do this – in fact to accept the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan – if the rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are guaranteed. According to him, this issue should be discussed at the negotiations between the two countries.

“Armenia remains committed to the peace agenda in the region. And we hope that in the near future we will reach an agreement on the text of the peace treaty and be able to sign it,” he said, TASS reports.

Pashinyan also commented on Armenia’s membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), suggesting that Yerevan may leave the bloc if it deems the organization “incompetent.”

Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized as Azerbaijan’s territory under international law, but its predominantly Armenian population declared independence in 1991 with military support from Yerevan.

In November 2020, Russia sent 2,000 troops to Nagorno-Karabakh to maintain peace in the region as part of a ceasefire agreement signed by Armenia and Azerbaijan.

But after the start of new fighting in September of last year, Armenia repeatedly accused Russian troops of failing to fulfill their obligations. The Kremlin denies the allegations, sparking unprecedented tensions with Armenia, a member of the CSTO, a Moscow-led military alliance.