During the 19th the Caucasus region was contested between the declining
Ottoman Empire,
Persia and
Russia, which was expanding southwards. Russia formally annexed the eastern Georgian
Kingdom of Kartli and Kakheti in 1801, followed by the western Georgian
Kingdom of Imereti in 1804. Over the course of the 1800s Russian pushed its southern frontier southwards, at the expense of the Persian and Ottoman Empires. By the
Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) and the subsequent
Treaty of Gulistan, Russia acquired the bulk of what is now Azerbaijan and the southern
Syunik region of modern Armenia. Following the
Russo-Persian War (1826–1828) and the
Treaty of Turkmenchay Persia was forced to cede the area of
Nakhchivan and the rest of modern Armenia. Internal disagreements led to
Georgia leaving the federation in May 1918, followed shortly thereafter by
Armenia and
Azerbaijan, however the borders between the three republic were contested. The June 1918
Treaty of Batum ended hostilities between the TDFR and the Ottoman Empire. When the Ottomans pulled out of the area of modern
Lori Province in October 1918 the area became disputed between Armenia and Georgia, the bulk of which had been the
Borchalo and Akhalkalaki
uyezds of the former Tiflis governorate. Georgia stated that the southern limits of the former Tiflis governorate should form the border, whereas Armenia said that the boundary should be redrawn so as to reflect the ethnic situation on the ground. In 1922 all three states were incorporated into the
Transcaucasian SFSR within the
USSR, before being separated in 1936. However neither the Armenian or Georgian government have pressed for a rectification of the old Soviet-era border between them. ==Settlements near the border==