Armenia Rejects Any Notion of Delegating Control Over Its Territory

Armenia has never discussed, and is not discussing, the delegation of control over any part of its sovereign territory to a third party, according to the spokesperson for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, Orda.kz reports, citing ArmenPress.

No part of the territory of the Republic of Armenia can exist outside the country’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, or jurisdiction,  she stated in response to a question from Armenpress.

The inquiry was prompted by recent comments from the U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye, who spoke about the possibility of the U.S. leasing land from Armenia, raising speculation that this could involve outsourcing control of transport routes.

Baghdasaryan emphasized that all discussions on reopening regional infrastructure are conducted exclusively within the framework of Armenia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction.

She also dismissed the notion of a land lease arrangement:

Under Armenian law, leasing land is only possible for agricultural use, and even then, solely for farming activities. Therefore, the option mentioned by the U.S. ambassador is not feasible.