The first border pillar of an undefined border
After more than three decades of conflict and negotiations, Armenia and Azerbaijan have taken a historic step by installing border markers near Armenia's Tavush province in the northeast. On 19 April, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shared a photo on his Facebook account showing a single border pillar, signalling the border delimitation in the northern part of the country’s border. However, the initial steps towards a promised peace were rather met with a wave of unrest.
The agreement with Azerbaijan involves handing over four villages that had de facto been part of Soviet Azerbaijan before both countries declared their independence from the Soviet Union. Following Pashinyan’s announcement, residents of Tavush, mainly from the affected villages, along with the Armenian opposition groups, initiated protests by blocking the Armenia-Georgia interstate road and staging small-scale demonstrations in Yerevan and other regions, demanding the Armenian government withdraw from the deal.
The bilateral deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan is the outcome of direct negotiations between the two parties. However, many Armenians see it as a ”unilateral concession” to Azerbaijan, worried that the move is just another in a series of Armenian government capitulations to Baku ultimatums, with no real guarantees for lasting peace. While the deal has faced criticism domestically, it has also been met with international approval, with leaders like European Council president Charles Michel and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken endorsing it.
The ongoing border delimitation issue is not unique to Armenia and Azerbaijan. Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, as 15 member states declared independence, many found themselves with disputed national borders – definitions of which for some are still in process three decades later. A similar challenge was presented to some Balkan nations following the collapse of Yugoslavia.