Armenia: 151 detained during anti-government protests over border deal with Azerbaijan

The protests center around demands for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation following a border deal with Azerbaijan last month, which remains contentious.

Armenia and Azerbaijan continue to grapple with unresolved issues despite recent diplomatic talks in Kazakhstan. The normalization deal, which includes border demarcation, sees Armenia relinquishing control of four villages to Azerbaijan, sparking criticism from opposition figures.

While the United States and the European Union have praised the agreement, Pashinyan's government faces backlash over concerns of territorial concessions without adequate assurances.

Pashinyan contends that the concessions are essential to deter Azerbaijani military aggression, but opposition voices argue that such actions may embolden Azerbaijan to seek further territorial gains through force.

The recent border agreement marks the first step in defining the frontier between Armenia and Azerbaijan, two countries with a history of conflict, including two wars over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Nagorno-Karabakh, recognized internationally as Azerbaijani territory, has been a focal point of dispute since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The region, initially controlled by ethnic Armenian forces, saw renewed conflict in 2020 when Azerbaijan reclaimed territories previously held by Armenia.

Last year's military operation by Baku resulted in the displacement of nearly 100,000 ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. (ILKHA)