On June 4, Armenian president Serge Sarkisian met with his counterpart Ilham Aliev in St. Petersburg, Russia to discuss ways in resolving the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict. Supposedly they have made some progress by at least agreeing to move forward in the negotiation process.
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian was quoted by journalists saying that “Although we cannot talk about a breakthrough or substantial progress today, the parties are moving forward and have agreed to continue negotiations.”
The Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, gave a similar positiive assessment of the talks, stating that, on the part of the presidents, “What we heard today is creating a basis for the continuation of our work.”
But what work is that realistically? Baku has repeated stated that it will never accept Nagorno-Karabagh’s independence. Meanwhile, there have never been rumors about the republic’s possible merger with Armenia in these talks. Instead there is purported discussion about an ambiguous status for Nagorno-Karabagh in a final deal, with a land link, presumably the one which already exists in Berdzor, otherwise known as the “Lachin corridor,” to Armenia. That land link would supposedly be protected by some sort of peacekeeping force.
I don’t know how many Armenians believe this peace deal will ever be signed or if they are taking these negotiations seriously. However, we have to keep in mind that the two presidents have already met five times during the last 12 months, which is unprecedented, so something significant worth paying close attention is indeed transpiring.
President Sarkisian has been taking careless steps recently in trying to appease the West by initiating diplomatic dialogue with Turkey. Nothing has been accomplished in the talks, other than diminishing the importance of recognizing the Armenian Genocide and providing Turkey with the opportunity to finally have some input in the negotiating process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
I can’t say that the current negotiations with Azerbaijan are in the best interests of Armenia. Western nations have made it clear repeatedly that they respect Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Let’s not forget the UN’s resolutions during the war defending Azerbaijan. So I don’t understand what is going on here and what Armenia’s leadership is thinking. Something’s not right.
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