evidence: That a prime-minister feels the need to accentuate on the legitimate boundaries of his own state to his domestic interlocutors is extraordinary, but not surprising considering the recent memories of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Immediately after regaining independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the two neighbors found themselves locked in a brutal war, in which Armenia gained an upper hand, capturing nearly one-fifth of Azerbaijani territory. Over the decades since, a new perception of "augmented Armenia" (a term coined by scholar Laurence Broers), which included the Karabakh region and slivers of Azerbaijani territory along the border, has become deeply ingrained in the Armenian national psyche. Azerbaijan’s stunning victory in the 44-Day War in 2020 effectively put an end to any hopes for realizing this nationalist vision. Yet, coming to terms with a new reality has been emotionally painful for many Armenians. [...] What makes the dispute over these border villages particularly intriguing is that most of Armenia’s domestic and international passenger and freight transport is conducted using motorways that pass through or near the de jure Azerbaijani territories in these settlements. Thus, Armenia’s main north-south highway (M2) and its main trade route with Iran, an important trade partner for Armenia, passes through an Azerbaijani exclave village of Karki. Seven other villages are located on or just next to another major highway (M16/H26) linking Armenia’s capital Yerevan with Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.