13 gün önce

Armenia agrees to return occupied villages to Azerbaijan after decades

Azerbaijan has been demanding the villages' return as a precondition for a peace deal after more than three decades of conflict, mostly centred on the region of Karabakh.

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The border along Azerbaijan's Gazakh province will be delineated to align with the border that existed during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Armenia has agreed to return to Azerbaijan four villages it occupied during the First Karabakh War some three decades ago.

It agreed on Friday during the eighth meeting of border demarcation commissions, chaired by Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, gathering along the countries’ frontier.

According to a written statement by Azerbaijan, the commissions reached an agreement on certain issues during the meeting, including determining the border along Azerbaijan's Gazakh province in line with the border that existed when the Soviet Union collapsed.

The line will pass through the villages of Baghanis (Armenia)-Baghanis Ayrum (Azerbaijan), Voskepar (Armenia)-Asagi Eskipara (Azerbaijan), Kirants (Armenia)-Heyrimli (Azerbaijan), and Berkaber (Armenia)-Kizilhacili (Azerbaijan).

This means that Armenia will return to Azerbaijan the villages of Baghanis Ayrum, Asagi Eskipara, Heyrimli, and Kizilhacili, all of which it occupied during the First Karabakh War of 1988-1994.

‼️Long-awaited historic event: 📢

As a result of the 8th meeting of the State Commissions on the delimitation of the state border between #Azerbaijan and #Armenia, Armenia has agreed to return 4 villages of Azerbaijan that were under the occupation since early 1990s. pic.twitter.com/qoHA9urFKv
— Aykhan Hajizada (@Aykhanh) April 19, 2024

The border coordinates will take into account geodetic measurements on the ground and be signed by May 15.

During the meeting, the parties also agreed that a draft regulation on the commissions' joint activities should be ready by July 1.

Agreeing to implement the border delineation process based on the 1991 Almaty Declaration, they also reached a consensus on continuing the border delineation process in all other parts of the border, including enclaves and exclaves.

Armenia to return Azerbaijani territories to avert conflict — Pashinyan

'Important step towards peace'

The United States has also welcomed the agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the return of the four villages Armenia occupied.

"We welcome the announcement that Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed upon the 1991 Alma Ata declaration as the basis for border delimitation between the two countries," Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on X.

"This is an important step towards concluding a durable and dignified peace agreement," he added.

"For the first time, there will be a demarcated state border between our countries, in the section of the four villages," Armenia's Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.