Armenia, Azerbaijan reach agreement on ‘historic’ return of villages

Armenia and Azerbaijan have reached a significant milestone in their path towards a peace deal, with Armenia agreeing to return several villages to Azerbaijan after two wars since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Al Jazeera reported.

The handover of four villages near the countries’ shared border, which had been under Armenian control since the early 1990s, is being hailed as a historic event by Azerbaijani officials, the news agency added.

This move comes as a reduction in risks associated with border delimitation and security for the Republic of Armenia, according to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s office.

The agreement, reached at a meeting chaired by the deputy prime ministers of both countries, involves the return of strategically important but deserted settlements close to Armenia’s main highway north towards the border with Georgia.

The demarcation of the border is considered a significant event, as it impacts Armenia’s trade route and its gas supply from Russia.

The villages to be returned to Azerbaijan are Baghanis Ayrum, Asagi Eskipara, Heyrimli, and Kizilhacili, which were occupied by Armenia during the First Karabakh War of 1988-1994.

This move comes after Azerbaijan’s lightning offensive in September, which led to the regain of control over Nagorno-Karabakh, prompting the mass exodus of the region’s population to Armenia.

Russia, which had deployed peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, had announced the beginning of their withdrawal, as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.