Armenia returns four border villages to Azerbaijan

Armenia has returned to Azerbaijan four border villages it had seized decades ago, officials in Yerevan and Baku confirmed Friday, in a key step towards normalising ties between the historic rivals.

The two ex-Soviet countries in the Caucasus fought two wars in the 1990s and in 2020 for control of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan recaptured it last year in a lightning offensive, ending three decades of Armenian separatist rule and prompting more than 100,000 locals to flee into Armenia.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had agreed in March to return the four abandoned villages seized by his country in the 1990s, as part of efforts to secure a lasting peace agreement between the countries.

On May 16, they agreed on the demarcation of 12.7 kilometres (almost seven miles) of their border that returned the villages of Baghanis Ayrum, Ashaghi Askipara, Kheyrimli and Ghizilhajili to Azerbaijan.

Armenia's security service confirmed Friday that its border guards had "officially" taken up new positions reflecting the border deal and ceded the villages to Azerbaijan's control.

Azerbaijan's Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev meanwhile announced that his country's border guards had taken control of the four settlements.

Armenian residents of nearby settlements say the move could cut them off from the rest of the country and accuse Pashinyan of unilaterally giving away territory without any guarantees in return.

The premier's move has sparked weeks of anti-government protests in Armenia, with thousands of demonstrators led by charismatic cleric Bagrat Galstanyan demanding Pashinyan's resignation.

A fresh anti-government protest is scheduled for Sunday.

Pashinyan last week described the deal as a "very important milestone for further strengthening Armenia's sovereignty and independence."

The territory is of strategic importance for landlocked Armenia because it controls sections of a vital highway to Georgia.