Armenia–Azerbaijan border

Coordinates: 40°18′N 45°50′E / 40.300°N 45.833°E / 40.300; 45.833 The Armenia–Azerbaijan border is an international border running from north to south and from northwest to southeast across the Lesser Caucasus. The border spans 1007.1 km^[1] (625.78 mi), with Armenia mainly to the west and Azerbaijan to the east. The Azerbaijani exclave of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic borders Armenia at the north and east. The northernmost inhabited places of the Armenia–Azerbaijan border are Kamarli on Azerbaijani side and Berdavan on Armenian side. The southernmost inhabited places are Ganza and Agarak, respectively. European routes E002 and E117 cross the border.

The modern Armenia–Azerbaijan border largely follows that of the Armenian SSR and Azerbaijan SSR, but is now closed due to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it may consider opening the border with Armenia in case of a breakthrough in the conflict.^[2]

Geography

The volcanic field of Porak volcano (called Akharbakhar in Azerbaijan), which straddles the Armenia–Azerbaijan border

The way borders were split in the 1920s in the early years of the Soviet Union are much more complicated and awkwardly drawn then non Soviet countries, resulting in multiple exclaves,sigzag lines, and other unexplainable abnormalities, rather than long spanning natural borders such as lakes,rivers, and mountains. The Armenia-Azerbaijan border is certainly no exception.

Along with the exclave of Nakhchivan, the border includes the much smaller Armenian exclave of Artsvashen (Bashkand) inside Azerbaijan and small Azerbaijani exclaves of Yukhary Askipara and Barkhudarly inside Armenia. The entire border lies mainly in mountainous terrain, with elevations between 600 and 3,400 m. From north to south, it sigzags next to and around the voskepar river, crosses through part of the Joghaz Water Reservoir at the mouth of the Voskepar, further south the Aghstafa River goes through the Sofolu exclave then enters Azerbaijan, touches the western tip of the Abbasbayli Water Reservoir, runs next to the eastern shore of Lake Sevan, crosses the Vorotan River (Bazarchay on Azerbaijani side), the Aylakh-Lich Lake and Sev Lich State Sanctuary, runs along the Hakari River and ends at the Araz River in the south. Two meridians (45th meridian east and 46th meridian east) and three parallels (39th parallel north, 40th parallel north and 41st parallel north) cross the Armenia–Azerbaijan border.

References