According to the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 10th meeting of the commissions, headed by Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian and Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, took place at the border of the two countries. The exchange of notifications took place in line with Article 7 of the regulations signed on August 30, the ministry said.
The ministry also noted that the parties “exchanged views on the sequence of sections/segments of the borderline for further carrying out delimitation works” and “discussed the drafts of respective guidelines for the procedures on carrying out delimitation works.”
“The parties agreed to set the date and location of the next meeting through working-level consultations,” it said, adding that following the meeting of the commissions, Grigorian and Mustafayev “had a separate discussion on issues of transport communications.”
In a post on X on October 31, U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller wrote that Washington “commends Armenia and Azerbaijan for formalizing the rules of procedure for border delimitation, demonstrating that progress is possible through sustained dialogue.”
“We support both sides’ work towards a durable, dignified peace for security and prosperity in the region,” the U.S. official said.
The enacted regulations outline how the delineation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border should be carried out. The document states that the process will be based, unless otherwise agreed, on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, in which newly independent ex-Soviet republics recognized each other’s Soviet-era borders. However, the regulations do not reference any specific maps.
The agreement on the regulations was reached after Armenia handed four disputed border areas held by Armenian forces since 1991-1992 over to Azerbaijan in May and June. The land transfer that was strongly condemned by the Armenian opposition sparked angry protests in border villages in northeastern Armenia seriously affected by it. The protests continued in Yerevan, attracting tens of thousands of people at one point, but gradually fizzled out.
The Armenian opposition insisted that Azerbaijan should also have withdrawn its troops from Armenian territories that it seized in 2021 and 2022. Baku denies occupying any Armenian territory.
Armenia’s opposition has claimed that the ratification and enactment of the regulations of the border delimitation and demarcation commissions goes against the country’s national interests.
On September 26, the Constitutional Court of Armenia confirmed the constitutionality of the regulations.