The location of border guards positioned along a 12km section of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border near between the settlements of Tegh (Armenia) and Zabukh (Azerbaijan) has been partially clarified, said Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday (6 April).
Following the rerouting of the Lachin Corridor at the end of last month, in line with a previously struck agreement Azerbaijani forces advanced toward the Armenian border to cut off the Goris-Stepanakert highway that had temporarily been used to connect Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh. You can read more about this here.
Soon after this, however, Armenia raised allegations that Azerbaijan had in some sections encroached several hundred metres into Armenian territory and began to undertake engineering works.
Speaking on Thursday, Pashinyan announced "certain improvement" of the situation after clarifying Armenian and Azerbaijani border guards’ deployment locations in the Tegh-Kornidzor section of the border.
"During the assumption of direct border protection some problems emerged, which the [National Security Service] informed about, stressing that misinterpretation of maps took place during the deployment of the two sides. In some areas, by our assessment, the Azerbaijani side deployed and conducted engineering works some 100 to 300 meters deep into the territory of Armenia," Pashinyan said.
"After that, an agreement was reached for cartographers of both sides to clarify the situation. During that time, work has been implemented for clarifying the deployment locations of the border guards. And the situation has improved to some extent. In particular, the deployment locations in 7km of the 12km are clarified, while the work on the other 5km is still in progress," the Prime Minister added.
Armenian sources also report that Pashinyan said the Armenian government is committed to avoiding an escalation, and that the Armenian Prime Minister "expressed hope that the adjustment work will be carried out in a constructive atmosphere".
source: commonspace.eu with agencies
photo: Armenpress