Peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia

The agreement's Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) is to pass through Armenia to the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan. This raises questions, writes Új Szó:

“The deal worked out between Azerbaijan and Armenia is a positive development: it could put an end to one of the bloodiest conflicts in the Caucasus. However, the details are disturbingly vague. The key element, the 'Trump route', which would open up a new transport and trade corridor (the Zangezur corridor), raises serious constitutional and sovereignty issues for Yerevan. And against this backdrop the US's goal is clear: to further weaken Iran's and Russia's positions in the South Caucasus.”

T24 is full of praise for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan:

“He has fended off five attempted coups. He emerged defeated from a war with the country's biggest enemy, but kept his post and learned lessons from the experience. He has redefined the national identity. Confronted the diaspora and the church. Declared independence from Russia. Concluded an agreement with the US and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus. Established closer relations than ever before with Turkey. ... Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan has achieved all this within seven years and is now trying to rebuild his country from scratch.”

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.”

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.”

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.”