Agreement Reached Between Yerevan and Baku

On April 19, 2024, the eighth meeting of the Commission on State Border Delimitation and Border Security between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan took place at the state border between the two countries, chaired by Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev.

As a result of the meeting, the Commissions agreed on the following:

In the initial phase of the delimitation process, the Parties have preliminarily agreed on specific segments of the border line, specifically between Baghanis (Armenia) – Baghanis Ayrum (Azerbaijan), Voskepat (Armenia) – Ashaghi Askipara (Azerbaijan), Kiran (Armenia) – Kheyrlimli (Azerbaijan), and Berkaber (Armenia) – Kyzyl Hacili (Azerbaijan) settlements, aiming to align these segments with the legally established inter-republican border that existed at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

They have decided that the description of these border segments will be formulated based on the precise coordinates identified through geodetic measurements in the terrain, which will be documented in a relevant Protocol-description to be agreed upon and signed by the Parties by May 15, 2024.

The Parties have agreed to appeal to their Governments to undertake measures for the simultaneous and parallel deployment of their border guard services in the agreed-upon segments of the border line. They also agreed that until the complete conclusion of the delimitation process, the agreed segments mentioned in the Protocol-description will be considered delineated.

Concurrently, they reached an agreement to finalize the work on the draft regulations concerning the joint activities of the Commission on State Border Delimitation and Border Security and the State Commission on State Border Delimitation of Azerbaijan and Armenia by July 1, 2024, and initiate the process of internal coordination and approval, following the procedures and requirements set by the respective states’ legislation.

The Parties agreed to be guided by the principles of the Almaty Declaration of 1991 during the delimitation process. They also agreed to solidify this fundamental principle in the draft regulations (if later agreements on peace and inter-state relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan provide for different regulations, the relevant provisions of the draft will be reconciled with the principles established by the Agreement).

It was agreed that following the confirmation of the regulations by the Parties, they would coordinate the sequence and continue the delimitation process for all remaining sections of the border, including issues related to enclaves and exclaves.

A protocol was signed as a result of the meeting. The Parties agreed to coordinate the date and place of the next meeting in a working order.