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Yesterday, Armenia returned to Azerbaijan four border towns that it controlled in the 1990s, in a new step towards normalizing relations between the two countries after decades of disputes and wars.
The step, which sparked widespread protests in Armenia, represents an important development towards reaching a comprehensive peace agreement after years of fruitless talks mediated by Russia and other countries.
The Armenian security services confirmed on Friday that their border guards were stationed in new locations in the east of the country, as part of a recently concluded agreement on border demarcation requiring the ceding of villages to Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, for his part, announced that Baku assumed supervision of the four towns.
Last March, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agreed to return the four abandoned villages that his country’s forces controlled in the 1990s, as part of efforts to establish a permanent peace agreement between the two countries.
On May 16, the two countries agreed to demarcate 12.7 km of their border and return the villages of Baganis Erum, Ashaghi Askibara, Khyrimli and Gizilhajili to Azerbaijan.
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