Armenia and Azerbaijan agree on ‘historic’ return of villages

Azerbaijan had demanded the return of the four villages as a condition for a peace deal after decades of conflict.

Armenia has agreed to return several villages to Azerbaijan in what both countries say is an important milestone as they edge towards a peace deal after fighting two wars since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada posted on the social media platform X on Friday that Armenia would return four villages near the countries’ shared border that had been “under occupation” since the early 1990s. He called it a “long-awaited historic event”.

In Armenia, the state news agency quoted Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s office as saying: “In this process, the Republic of Armenia receives a reduction in risks associated with border delimitation and security.”

It said the handover in practice involved “two and a half villages” because Azerbaijan already partly controlled the settlements involved, but it added that the demarcation of the border was a “significant event”.

The settlements are deserted but are strategically important because they are close to Armenia’s main highway north towards the border with Georgia. Much of Armenia’s trade travels on this road, and it goes to the pipeline through which it receives gas from Russia.

The agreement was reached at a meeting on the two countries’ border, chaired by their deputy prime ministers.

‼️Long-awaited historic event: