Following the historic decision by Baku and Yerevan to return four non-enclave villages occupied by Armenia since the early 1990s, the process of border delimitation and demarcation has started

On 23 April, an Armenian-Azerbaijani expert group met on one section of the shared, but problematic border where demining was underway. Police had cordoned off the road and officials from both sides shared photographs, taken from their respective sides, of a single concrete pillar marking part of the boundary.

“The first border sign has been installed in the Tavush section of the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border”, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on X . “HISTORIC: The first-ever boundary pillars installed on Azerbaijan-Armenia border. Demarcation process has started. Peace is possible!”, posted Nasimi Aghayev, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Germany. The agreement “proves that we can solve problems independently”, Special Presidential Representative Elchin Amirbekov told media.

“Azerbaijan and Armenia are closer to peace today more than ever”

Since then, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has declared that 10-12 kilometres of the border can be considered demarcated. But this has not been without controversy or critics, including former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and other opposition groups. Nonetheless, even the opposition Hraparak newspaper last week admitted that the long awaited process was proceeding “without serious obstacles and resistance”.

Even so, residents in the area affected by this latest development have been protesting the handover by blocking off a key highway running through part of the area. On 25 April, schoolchildren in one village refused to attend school while the Archbishop of the Tavush region, Bagrat Galstanyan, continues to urge residents to resist the handover. Others, like controversial former military commander Jirair Sefilyan, have even called on the army to move against the government. On 22 April, Onik Gasparyan – Chief of the army’s General Staff during the 2020 defeat – told media that he would “fight” alongside the protesters.

Police have also now started to forcibly remove cars in some areas so that traffic to and from Georgia can pass and there are isolated incidents elsewhere in the country. Pashinyan has promised to take into account their concerns and established two working groups that would function under the Armenian border commission charged with the task of working with its Azerbaijani counterpart. One would consist of local administrative heads, but of 11 included, 7 have already pulled out. Aliyev acknowledges that there are concerns.

"[…] there are parts of this border that create problems”, he said. This applies to roads, sometimes security issues, the visibility of each other’s territory. […] We must be reasonable and agree on a border that will be safe and convenient for both sides", he said, while Pashinyan campaigns to residents along the boundary line in northeastern Armenia.

"There should not be trenches in front of houses [here]; there should be gardens”, he told residents in one village last week. “This should not be a frontline but a border with a checkpoint. If you want to communicate [with Azerbaijan] you’ll do so. If you don’t, it’s up to you. […] Our idea is that it’s good that Azerbaijan is 50 metres away so we can trade and build an economy there”.

The United States, European Union, and others have welcomed the decision based on the 1991 Alma Ata Declaration on the modern-day borders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Even so, the opposition and other critics instead claim it will lead to war. Pashinyan’s government counters that failure to return the villages would instead make new conflict more likely. “How many are ready to fight for Azerbaijani settlements that were never part of Armenia?”, commented Pashinyan’s Deputy Chief of Staff.

“For the first time, Armenia and Azerbaijan resolved the issue at the [negotiating] table”, Pashinyan told media on 20 April, also referring also to a landmark statement made by Yerevan and Baku in December. “It is particularly significant that we have reached two major agreements with Azerbaijan in the last five months”. Speaking at a conference dedicated to November’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Aliyev went further. “It is realistic to reach an agreement on the fundamental principles of peace with Armenia before COP-29”, he said.