Armenia and Azerbaijan Agree on Initial Border Demarcation, Russian Border Guards to Leave Tavush Region

In a significant development, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced that Russian border guards will leave the Tavush region after the delimitation and demarcation of borders with Azerbaijan. This comes as part of an agreement reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan to return four Azerbaijani villages in the Gazakh region that have been under Armenian control since the 1990s.

The decision was made during the eighth meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani border commissions on April 19, 2023, where a protocol was drawn up to direct the two governments to consider the border based on coordinates and deploy border guards in parallel to the already agreed parts of the shared border. This marks the first time there will be a demarcated state border between the two countries in this section.

The commissions agreed to use the Alma Ata Declaration of 1991 as the basis for the delimitation process and will also discuss the issue of enclaves. According to Armenian sources, the Armenian troops will withdraw from the positions they occupy in the area of four villages, and the Armenian side will lay new sections of roads to maintain contact with its border villages.

Why this matters: The agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on border demarcation is a vital step towards achieving lasting peace and stability in the region. It demonstrates the willingness of both countries to engage in dialogue and find mutually acceptable solutions to long-standing territorial disputes.

The initial stage of the delimitation process will involve sections between four villages in Armenia's Tavush Province and four abandoned villages that used to be part of Azerbaijan's Qazax district. The parties agreed to compile a description of these border segments, including the specification of coordinates based on geodetic measurements, by May 15, 2024. They also agreed to complete the work on the coordination of the draft Regulation of the Joint Activities of the Commission on the Delimitation of the State Border and Border Security by July 1, 2024, and to start the process of intra-state agreement and approval of the Provisions.

While work remains on the rest of the 1,000-kilometer border, the Gazakh-Tavush section is seen as the easiest to resolve initially. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have welcomed the agreement, with Blinken stating that it is "an important step towards a durable and dignified peace agreement between the two countries." The EU Special Representative for the Crisis in the South Caucasus and Georgia, Toivo Klaar, has also welcomed the agreements reached, calling it "encouraging news" and affirming the EU's full support for the negotiation process and the aim of a comprehensive

Key Takeaways

• Armenia, Azerbaijan agree to demarcate border, return 4 Azerbaijani villages.
• Russian border guards to leave Tavush region after border delimitation.
• Parties to use 1991 Alma Ata Declaration as basis for delimitation process.
• Agreement welcomed by UN, US, EU as step towards lasting peace in region.
• Parties to complete border coordination by July 2024 and start approval process.