Armenian government submits border delimitation bill to parliament

The Armenian government, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, has submitted a bill to the parliament concerning the establishment of a commission for the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The proposal is now awaiting ratification. However, members of the ruling party, Civil Contract, have not yet indicated when the document will be included on the parliamentary agenda for discussion, Caliber.Az reports via Armenian media.

This move comes amid ongoing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan regarding territorial boundaries, and the establishment of a clear delimitation process is seen as a critical step towards resolving these issues.

Notably, on August 30, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a regulation governing the joint operations of their border delimitation commissions, as announced by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

The ministry stated that both countries initiated internal state procedures to ratify the agreement. Tensions between Baku and Yerevan date back to 1991, following the Armenian military's occupation of Karabakh, a territory recognised internationally as part of Azerbaijan, along with seven surrounding regions.

Most of this territory was regained by Azerbaijan during a 44-day conflict in autumn 2020, which ended with a Russian-brokered peace deal that set the stage for normalization and border demarcation discussions.

In September of last year, Azerbaijan asserted full control over Karabakh after an "anti-terrorist operation" led to the surrender of separatist forces in the region.

By Aghakazim Guliyev