Rhetoric around “preparing populations for peace” over Karabakh conflict rings hollow unless matched with the transparency needed for the public to actually make informed judgments, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America Aram Hamparian wrote on Facebook.

“Without transparency, such calls can come across as something between ‘you can trust me’ and ‘you don't need to know’,” he believes.

He raised a few questions, among them whether the Madrid Principles are the basis for talks, what role Artsakh will play in the process, what guarantees can be offered against renewed aggression and other matters.

“More broadly, how would a deal - if implemented - play out, over the short, mid, and long terms?

For example, if Artsakh were to surrender land/security upfront, would Azerbaijan respond in good faith by keeping its commitments regarding Artsakh's future status. Or would Azerbaijan take this concession as a sign of weakness, leveraging its new advantage on the ground to secure (as Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly pledged) further territorial gains, until all of Artsakh is brought under Baku's control - with or without Armenians?

We may hope for the best, but must - given our history and geography - prepare the worst.

This is not a time for careless thinking.

As they say, we need to stay open-minded, but not so open that our brains fall out,” he wrote.