After eight rounds of talks led by the Azerbaijani and Armenian deputy prime ministers, a border agreement was reached between the two parties.

Qatar has welcomed an agreement reached by Azerbaijan and Armenia on border demarcations in four villages, according to a statement by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Sunday.

The MoFA said that it hoped “the initial agreement will pave the way for resolving the unresolved issues between the two sides through dialogue and peaceful means, to achieve the interest of the two countries, as well as the aspirations of the two peoples for development and prosperity.”

The statement concluded by reiterating Qatar’s continued support for international efforts aimed at restoring security, stability and peace in the region.

On Friday, Aykhan Hajizada, a spokesperson for the Azerbaijani MoFA, announced what he referred to as the “long-awaited historic event” of Armenia agreeing to return four villages to Azerbaijan.

Also on Friday, Azerbaijani state media revealed that this news followed the 8th round of talks by the State Commission on the Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia and the Commission.

The meeting took place on Friday at the Azerbaijan-Armenia border and the delegations were led by the two countries’ deputy prime ministers – namely Azerbaijan’s Shahin Mustafayev and Armenia’s Mher Grigoryan.

What does the deal entail?

The initial delimitation agreement involves the transfer of the Baghanis Ayrum, Ashaghi Askipara, Kheyrimli, and Ghizilhajili villages from Armenia to Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani state media said.

Armenia has retained a grip on the abandoned villages since the early 1990s when the Armenian military took control amid ethnic clashes, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan has been demanding the return of the villages as a condition for a peace deal after more than three decades of conflict, mostly centred on the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The latest agreement also sets a deadline for finalising the delineation process – which includes determining the coordinates of the border segments through geodetic measurements conducted on-site. By May 15, both parties must agree and sign off on the coordinates.

Also, by July 1, the draft Regulation on the Joint Activity of the State Commission on the Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia and the Commission on the Matters of Delimitation of the State Border and Border Security between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan must be finalised.

On Friday, the Armenian Prime Ministerial Office said that this agreement gives the republic “an active platform and an opportunity to organise the border delimitation process in a civilised and legitimate way and to implement it, providing the necessary security, social and legal guarantees of the population,” according to Armenian press reports.