WIREDGOV

EXPERT COMMENT

New peace talks are finally inching forward, but the fate of the population caught up in the centre of the conflict remains a key concern.

After a hiatus of several months, Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations resumed in May – and readouts from intensive meetings in Washington, Brussels, Chisinau, and Moscow suggest an agreement on normalization of relations between the two states is feasible.

There is now a critical mass of issues at the inter-state level on which eventual agreement looks possible, such as border delimitation, resolving humanitarian issues, and the much-discussed connectivity agenda. Many observers sense a historic opportunity to finally turn the page on 35 years of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

For the first time in many years, it is the stronger side – Azerbaijan – which appears to be pushing for a negotiated outcome, within a context where Armenian deterrence and its capacity to resist have broken down.

It is evident that, in Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia has a leader for the first time in two decades prepared to go against popular opinion and renounce the country’s role as the patron-state of Karabakh Armenian secessionism.

Pashinyan has repeatedly indicated Armenia is ready to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity – including the former Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region which lies at the heart of the conflict.

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