In the shadow of the war in Ukraine, an unlikely peace process is taking shape to normalize relations between Armenia and its historic adversaries, Azerbaijan and Turkey, columnist David Ignatius wrote in The Washington Post.
According to the journalist with Armenian roots, “At a time when the world is focused on the intense combat in Ukraine, diplomatic issues in the Caucasus may seem like a sideshow. But helping resolve these intractable conflicts would not only be good for its own sake; but also it offers a potential point of convergence for U.S. and Russian interests that could open useful avenues of common dialogue.”
Ignatius notes that both Russia and the West are trying to keep these processes under their umbrella.
“Armenia’s best protection against a coercive peace would be participation by the United States and Europe in the negotiating process,” he added. “One pathway for such a joint effort would a revival of the so-called Minsk Group, co-chaired by the United States, France and Russia. But Moscow is boycotting the group. Instead, the European Union has joined Russia as a co-sponsor of the talks, hosting a Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting in Brussels last month. That provides a Western leg of support for normalization.”
“This week, Mirzoyan, the Armenian foreign minister, will lean toward Russia, Armenia’s historic protector, as he meets in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, with foreign ministers of other former Soviet republics. That gathering is expected to include a three-way conclave with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov to discuss a peace treaty,” David Ignatius wrote.
“Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan explained the normalization moves in an interview last week in Washington, where he was visiting Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The two signed a memorandum of understanding to provide U.S. help for Armenia’s nuclear power industry and assistance in its struggle against corruption. State Department officials have also visited Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent weeks to bolster the peace effort,” Ignatius noted.
‘“We should look not only to the past but to the future,’ Mirzoyan told me. He said that if Armenia continues to be in a ‘zero-sum’ game with its neighbors, ‘our region will be in a vicious circle,”’ David Ignatius added.
“Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Britain and former ambassador to the United States, offered a similar ‘cautiously optimistic’ assessment. ‘Azerbaijan has repeatedly expressed hope for the soonest normalization and signing of a peace agreement,’ he said in a telephone interview,” Ignatius wrote.
