Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to end decades long conflict

Armenian and Azerbaijani officials announced on Thursday that they had finalised the text of a peace agreement that aims to end the almost four-decade-long conflict between the South Caucasus nations.

This is a major and surprising breakthrough in a peace process that has been stuck many times and proved difficult for a long time.

The two post-Soviet states have been embroiled in hostilities since the late 1980s. Back then, Nagorno-Karabakh was a region of Azerbaijan with a predominantly ethnic-Armenian population which seceded from Azerbaijan.

The dispute over this region led to multiple wars over the years, but the agreed-upon text now raises hopes for a lasting resolution to the longstanding conflict.