Peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev, have signed a US-brokered peace deal in Washington. US President Donald Trump announced that under the agreement they committed to ending all fighting, initiating trade, travel and diplomatic relations and respecting each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. A fresh start for the region?
A fresh start in the South Caucasus
Middle East expert Ihor Semyvolos analyses the situation in a Facebook post picked up by NV:
“Both countries get a chance to live together peacefully, but the question is whether they will take it. Armenia would gain access to the Turkish market, which will clearly have a positive impact on the economic situation. ... Azerbaijan would confirm its status as an influential regional power. More importantly, Russia will lose its exclusive right to the region, heralding the start of a new phase in the development of the South Caucasus. This is an extraordinary moment – practically the first since Russian troops appeared in the region three centuries ago.”
Baku turning its back on Moscow
Azerbaijan is fed up with Russia, writes Rzeczpospolita:
“The path to the Washington agreement was paved by the confrontation that has escalated between Moscow and Baku since the end of last year. In autumn 2020, after the Azerbaijanis defeated the Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, the two presidents signed a ceasefire agreement in the presence of Vladimir Putin. But at the end of last year the Russians first accidentally shot down an Azerbaijani passenger plane and then murdered two Azerbaijanis living in Russia during raids on immigrants. And because neither a change in Russian policy nor an apology or compensation for the families of the victims was forthcoming, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has turned to Washington.”
Just PR for Trump
The only goal behind this peace agreement is to generate positive headlines for the US president, news.bg criticises:
“Steve Witfkoff, the man leading the negotiations on the American side, has already failed in his other diplomatic efforts to end the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip. This suggests why Washington wants to capitalise on the progress made in the bilateral negotiations between Yerevan and Baku. Trump urgently needs to show that his diplomacy can achieve positive results in conflict resolution too.”