Armenia and Azerbaijan Hold New Border Talks

Armenia has announced an update to its ongoing border negotiations with Azerbaijan. Talks between the two countries are aimed at delineating their shared border, a task that has been a source of Azerbaijani aggression for decades. The Armenian Foreign Ministry shared details of the latest discussions, which were held earlier today.

According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the two countries have agreed to begin the border delimitation process at the northernmost section of their shared boundary. This starting point is where the borders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia intersect. From there, the border will be outlined southward toward the countries' shared boundary with Iran.

While the ministry confirmed this new approach, it refrained from providing additional details about the agreements reached during the meeting. It did note, however, that both sides will coordinate the timing of the next round of discussions at a later date.

One significant unresolved issue is the selection of maps or legal documents to guide the delimitation process. The Armenian statement revealed that the two sides discussed draft guidelines for conducting the delimitation work but did not specify whether any agreement was reached on this front.

Previously, Armenia advocated using Soviet military maps from the 1970s as the primary basis for defining the border. However, in October, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, who leads the Armenian delegation in these negotiations, hinted at a possible shift in this stance. Azerbaijan has consistently rejected the use of Soviet-era maps, arguing that they do not accurately reflect the current realities on the ground.

In August, Armenia and Azerbaijan reached an agreement on regulations for joint activities of their respective border commissions. This followed months of heightened tensions, including a controversial decision by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in April to cede four disputed border areas to Azerbaijan. The move sparked widespread protests in Armenia, with demonstrators accusing the government of conceding too much without securing meaningful concessions from Azerbaijan in return.

The protests, which took place in May and June, brought thousands of people to the streets of Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. Protest leaders warned that such unilateral land transfers could embolden Azerbaijan to push for additional territorial concessions without offering reciprocal compromises.