Armenia and Azerbaijan have announced the commencement of demarcating their common borders, a significant milestone for both countries that have been embroiled in conflicts in the Caucasus region for over a century. The Ministry of the Interior of Azerbaijan revealed that experts have started clarifying coordinates based on a geodesic study, while the Armenian Ministry of the Interior confirmed that demarcation work is underway without any transfer of territory.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recently agreed to return four border towns to Azerbaijan, which sparked protests among Armenians near the border who were concerned about isolation and loss of property to Azerbaijan. Protests continued in various regions of Armenia, with concerns over border disputes and potential new conflicts with Azerbaijan looming large.
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan, former Soviet republics, have faced off in two wars – one in the 1990s and another in 2020 – resulting in thousands of casualties on both sides. After Armenia’s defeat in 2020, it had to relinquish control over significant parts of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan, ending a decades-long conflict in the region.
The demarcation of borders based on Soviet-era maps is viewed as a crucial step towards resolving longstanding border disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which has caused tensions and instability in the region for many years. Both countries recognize the importance of resolving these disputes to maintain peace and stability in this volatile part of Europe.