YEREVAN. May 6 (Interfax) - The Primate of the Diocese of Tavush of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, has announced the start of a march and protests in Yerevan against the government policy on the issue of delimitating borders with Azerbaijan.
"The Tavush movement, along with its people, have decided to march on Yerevan [from Kirants, Tavush region] to hold Armenian authorities to answer and to demand that this catastrophic, inexplicable delimitation process should be stopped, " Archbishop Galstanyan said in a speech in the village of Kirants, partial control of which the Armenian government decided to hand over to Azerbaijan.
"There is no end to unilateral concessions of the Armenian authorities," Galstanyan said.
"Tavush will be followed by problems of the enclaves, the problem of Tigranashen, of Syunik, meaning that from north to south of Armenia, we are faced catastrophic risks, and this process must be stopped. This is our demand," the archbishop said.
The delimitation issues should be handled in accordance with Armenian laws and international law, not individual decisions, he said.
Protests against Pashinyan's policies, in particular on the issue of relations with Azerbaijan, the delimitation of their joint border and the handover of villages in the Tavush region to Azerbaijan have been taking place in the republic since April 20, with demonstrators blocking local motorways and the highway leading to Georgia.
The two countries' border will be demarcated near four villages in the Tavush region, the Armenian leader's office said on April 19.
"[Yerevan] has demonstrated its sincerity," Pashinyan said in an interview with British media outlets earlier. "We registered that the Armenian government was ready to take steps within its powers so life can become possible for people, so living can be possible in those Azerbaijani villages where no people now live, namely: Hajili, Xeyrimli, Asagi Askipara, and Baghanis Ayrum," he said.
The first marker on the border between the two countries was installed on April 23, 2024.