Azerbaijan–Georgia border

The Azerbaijan–Georgia border (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan–Gürcüstan sərhədi, Georgian: აზერბაიჯან-საქართველოს საზღვარი, romanized: azerbaijan-sakartvelos sazghvari) is the international boundary between Azerbaijan and Georgia. It is 428 km (266 mi) in length and runs from the tripoint with Armenia in the west to the tripoint with Russia in the east.^[1]

Map of Azerbaijan, with Georgia to the north-west

Azerbaijani and Georgian boundary markers

Description

The border starts in the west at the tripoint with Armenia and proceeds overland to the north-east, cutting through Jandari Lake, before turning to the south-east down to the vicinity of Azerbaijan's Mingachevir reservoir. It then utilises the Alazani river as it flows north-east and then north-west, leaving the river due east of Tsnori and proceeding overland to the Russian tripoint.

History

During the 19th the Caucasus region was contested between the declining Ottoman Empire, Persia and Russia, which was expanding southwards. Russia formally annexed the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli and Kakheti in 1801, followed by the western Georgian Kingdom of Imereti in 1804. Over the course of the 1800s Russian pushed its southern frontier southwards, at the expense of the Persian and Ottoman Empires.^[2] By the Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) and the subsequent Treaty of Gulistan, Russia acquired the bulk of what is now Azerbaijan and parts of Armenia.^[3][4] Russia organised its Georgian and Azeri territories into the governorates of Tiflis, Kutaisi, Baku, Elisabethpol.

Map of the former Tiflis Governorate, with the disputed Zakatala okrug in the east

Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, the peoples of the southern Caucasus had declared the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR) in 1918 and started peace talks with the Ottomans.^[5][6] Internal disagreements led to Georgia leaving the federation in May 1918, followed shortly thereafter by Armenia and Azerbaijan, however the borders between the three republic were contested. The dispute between Azerbaijan and Georgia centred on the area of Zakatal Okrug (Zaqatala) within the former Tiflis Governorate.^[7] When Russia recognised the independence of Georgia via the Treaty of Moscow (1920), it recognised Georgian ownership of Zakatal, prompting protests by the Azeri government.^[8][7] In May 1920 it was agreed that a Russian-sponsored delimitation would decide the fate of the area.^[7] Much of the border was agreed upon at peace talks held on 12 June 1920, with Zaqatala to be decided by the Russian-led commission.^[7][9]

In 1920 Russia's Red Army invaded Azerbaijan and Armenia, ending the independence of both, followed in February–March 1921 by Georgia. On 5 July 1921 Russia confirmed that the non-disputed sections of the Azeri-Georgian border would remain as they were, whilst transferring Zakatal to Azerbaijan, with this arrangement finalised by treaty on 15 November 1921.^[7] In 1922 all three states were incorporated into the Transcaucasian SFSR within the USSR, before being separated in 1936.

The boundary became an international frontier in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the independence of its constituent republics. Work began in 1994 on the delimitation of the border but progress has been slow due to overlapping claims.^[7][10] Part of the border around the Red Bridge remains mined, a legacy of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in the 1990s when Azerbaijan feared that Armenia would take advantage of chaos in Georgia's and utilise the area to launch attacks on its territory.^[11] The site of the David Gareja monastery complex, a sacred site to Georgians which sits directly by the border, has proven especially contentious.^[7][12] There is a sizeable Azeri minority in Georgia, concentrated especially in the southern municipalities of Kvemo Kartli region,^[13][14] as well as a Georgian minority in Azerbaijan, concentrated especially in the Saingilo region where they are known as Ingiloys.^[15][16][17]

Settlements

A crossing on the border

Azerbaijan

• İkinci Şıxlı
• Sadıqlı
• Danaçı
• Balakən

Georgia

• Kesalo
• Zemo-Kedi
• Kvemi-Kedi
• Vardisubani
• Karsubani
• Lagodekhi

Border crossings

The following border crossings operate between the two countries:^[18]

The Red Bridge border crossing

• İkinci Şıxlı (AZE) – Tsiteli (GEO) at the Red Bridge^[19][20]
• Sadıqlı, Agstafa (AZE) - Vakhtangisi "Mtkvari" (GEO))^[21]
• Muğanlı, Zaqatala (AZE) - Samtatskaro (GEO)^[22]
• Balakən (AZE) - Lagodekhi (GEO)^[23][20]

See also

• Azerbaijan–Georgia relations

References

1. "CIA World Factbook - Georgia". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
2. The boundary between Turkey and the USSR (PDF), January 1952, archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2020, retrieved 8 April 2020
3. John F. Baddeley, "The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus", Longman, Green and Co., London: 1908, p. 90
4. USSR-Iran Boundary (PDF), February 1951, archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2020, retrieved 9 April 2020
5. Richard Hovannisian (1997), The Armenian people from ancient to modern times, St. Martin's Press, pp. 292–293, ISBN 978-0-333-61974-2, OCLC 312951712 (Armenian Perspective)
6. Ezel Kural Shaw (1977), Reform, revolution and republic : the rise of modern Turkey (1808-1975), History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, vol. 2, Cambridge University Press, p. 326, OCLC 78646544 (Turkish Perspective)
7. Samkharadze, Nikoloz (August 2020). "Georgian State Border – Past and Present" (PDF). Centre for Social Sciences. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
8. Lang, DM (1962). A Modern History of Georgia, p. 226. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
9. Hille, Charlotte (2010). State Building and Conflict Resolution in the Caucasus. Leiden, the Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. p. 95. ISBN 978-90-04-17901-1.
10. Ekaterina Arkhipova (December 2016), Georgia and Azerbaijan: border delimitation and security challenges, archived from the original on 4 February 2021, retrieved 9 September 2020
11. Bradley Jardine (19 September 2018). "Azerbaijan-Georgia border dispute a political, and literal, minefield". Eurasianet. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
12. Michael Mainville (2007-05-03). "Ancient monastery starts modern-day feud in Caucasus". Middle East Times. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
13. Jonathan Wheatley. Obstacles Impeding the Regional Integration of the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia. European Centre for Minority Issues Working Paper #23. February 2005
14. 2014 Georgian General Population Census - Demographic And Social Characteristics Archived 2019-08-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
15. Mahdavi, Shirin (17 September 2018). "Georgian Churches in Azerbaijan". Georgia Today. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
16. Council of Europe: Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Fourth Report submitted by Azerbaijan pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 2 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities Archived 2021-02-04 at the Wayback Machine (Received on 10 January 2017), 10 January 2017, ACFC/SR/IV(2017)002
17. Cornell, Svante E (30 July 2019). "Are Georgia-Azerbaijan Relations at Risk?". CACI Analyst. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
18. "Border checkpoints of Georgia". State Commission on Migration Issues. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
19. "Red Bridge Customs Checkpoint". Georgian Travel Guide. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
20. "Georgia Border Crossings". Caravanistan. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
21. "Mtkvari Customs Checkpoint". Georgian Travel Guide. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
22. "Samtatskaro Customs Checkpoint". Georgian Travel Guide. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
23. "Lagodekhi Customs Checkpoint". Georgian Travel Guide. Retrieved 19 July 2021.

External links