'Important step’ to peace: U.S. welcomes Azerbaijan-Armenia agreement on return of villages

The U.S. welcomed on Friday an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the return of four villages Armenia occupied during the First Karabakh War more than three decades ago.

"We welcome the announcement that Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed upon the 1991 Alma Ata declaration as the basis for border delimitation between the two countries," Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on X.

"This is an important step towards concluding a durable and dignified peace agreement," he added.

Armenia agreed to return to Azerbaijan four villages it occupied during the First Karabakh War.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman, Aykhan Hajizada, wrote on X that the agreement came after the eighth meeting of the State Commissions on the delimitation of the state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He called it a "long-awaited historic event."

"For the first time, there will be a demarcated state border between our countries, in the section of the four villages," Armenia's Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.