Azerbaijan opens new border post at ancient monastery on disputed section of border with Georgia

Azerbaijan has opened a new border outpost at the Keshishdag / David Gareji monastery border section of the border with Georgia, around which there is a border dispute between Azerbaijan and Georgia.

According to the Caucasian Knot, the Azerbaijani border service says that the outpost is equipped with “all the necessary equipment that meets modern requirements.”

The opening ceremony was attended by the chief of the border service Elchin Guliyev and the head of the executive branch of the Agstafa region Nizameddin Guliyev. 

According to officials, the staff of the new outpost has been called upon to “protect the historical and cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people”, in addition to protecting the border. 

The dispute around the border intensified in the spring of 2019, when Azerbaijani border guards closed access across the border to a part of the complex located in Azerbaijan. Georgian activists held a series of demonstrations, in some cases there were minor clashes between Georgian activists and Azerbaijani border guards.

Talks are still ongoing between Tbilisi and Baku on the demarcation of the disputed sections of the border.

Will an ancient monastery complex in the mountains bring tension between Azerbaijan and Georgia to a head?