The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Vedant Patel told a briefing on April 24. “The Secretary mentioned this in his tweet, that 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”, Patel said. “This is an important step towards concluding a durable and dignified peace agreement.” The remarks come after the 8th meeting of the Commission on the Delimitation and Border Security of the State Border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Commission on the Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, which took place on April 23. Following the announcement of the results of the meeting, hundreds of residents of Armenia’s border villages in Tavush province have been protesting against Armenia’s decision to cede territories to Azerbaijan as part of the countries' agreement on border delimitation. The delimitation on said sections is expected to be completed by the middle of May, the parties have agreed.