Armenia returned four border villages to Azerbaijan on Friday that it had taken in the 1990s, a new step towards normalization of relations between these rival Caucasian countries after decades of territorial disputes and wars.
These two neighbors have clashed several times for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The first war, which left more than 30,000 dead, in the 1990s was won by Armenia.
Azerbaijan then regained control of part of the region in the fall of 2020, before conquering the entire region after a lightning offensive in September 2023, driving out the Armenian separatists who had ruled it for three decades.
Armenia criticizes Russia, its traditional ally, for not intervening at the time of the Azerbaijani attack, despite the presence of Russian peacekeeping soldiers there at the time.
A sign of these persistent tensions, the spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, announced on Friday the recall of the Russian ambassador to Yerevan for “consultation”.
At the same time, Baku and Yerevan have increased negotiations to find a lasting peace and announced in mid-May that they had agreed on the delimitation of part of the common border.
On Friday, Armenian border guards “started officially guarding” the new demarcation line, Armenian security services said.
The Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister, Shahin Mustafayev, announced that the four villages of the Gazakh region (Tavouch in Armenian) which are Baganis, Ashaghy (Voskepar in Armenian), Kheyrimli (Kirants in Armenian) and Ghizilhajili (Berkaber in Armenian) had returned “under the control of the border guards of the Republic of Azerbaijan”.
The implementation of the May agreement, which covers a 12.7 km long border section, marks an important step towards a comprehensive peace agreement that Baku and Yerevan are now trying to reach.
“Important milestone”
Friday evening, in a television speech, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian affirmed that the delimitation of borders with Azerbaijan was “the only guarantee to ensure the existence of the Armenian republic within its internationally recognized and legitimate borders.” .
As soon as it was announced on May 16, the agreement on the four villages was described by Nikol Pashinian as “a very important milestone for the strengthening of the sovereignty and independence of Armenia”.
The territory that Armenia agreed to return has strategic importance for this landlocked country, because it allows control of sections of an important route to neighboring Georgia.
Armenian residents of nearby villages fear that they will be cut off from the rest of their country following this decision. For his part, Mr. Pashinian promises to build new roads in the region in the coming months.
A 5.8 km stretch of the border near the Armenian village of Kirants will be guarded “in accordance with a transitional scheme until July 24”, Armenian security services said.
According to the village mayor, its population will be allowed to use part of the road under Azerbaijani control until new roads emerge.
According to local media, several residents of this town located just in the immediate vicinity of the new demarcation line have already left after destroying their homes.
Protest in Armenia
The agreement on the restitution of villages sparked strong protest in Armenia. Thousands of people demonstrated on May 9 in the capital Yerevan, demanding the resignation of Nikol Pashinian.
This demonstration was the culmination of several weeks of protest actions and road blockages in the border region, followed by a major 160 km march towards Yerevan, led by the charismatic archbishop of this region, Bagrat Galstanian. More than 150 demonstrators were then briefly arrested.
A new protest demonstration is planned for Sunday. But the movement seems to be running out of steam.
If this were to be confirmed, Mr. Pashinian, a former journalist who has led Armenia since 2018, could boast of great resilience. He had already survived calls for resignation after the Armenian defeats of 2020 and 2023.