Armenian, Azerbaijani Border Guards Take Over the Protection of State Border in Tavush Region

YEREVAN — Starting May 24, 2024, border guard troops of Armenia’s National Security Service officially took under protection a 6.8-kilometer section of the border with Azerbaijan near Berkaber and Baganis villages in Tavush region.

The National Security Service said that the 5.8-kilometer section near the village of Kirants will be guarded under a transitional scheme until July. The protection of the opposite sections of the border will be carried out by units of the State Border Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, who negotiated the deal on April 19 with his Armenian counterpart Mher Grigoryan, announced that Azerbaijani border guards took up positions there in the morning. Mustafayev said Azerbaijan won back a total of 6.5 square kilometers of territory that used to be occupied by four Azerbaijani villages captured by Armenian forces in 1991-1992.

On April 19, the  border commissions of Armenia and Azerbaijan, formed after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, said they had reached a preliminary agreement on recognizing Soviet-era administrative borders as international borders.