Ukraine Prompts Armenia and Azerbaijan to Begin Peace Talks

Armenia’s relationship with Russia has proved to be crucial in a territorial dispute with Azerbaijan. (Pictured Above: Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin (Wikimedia Commons)

After long-standing tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, leaders from both states are meeting to end the conflict. On April 6, Armenia’s Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s Aliyev gathered in Brussels for a talk mediated by EU Council President, Charles Michel.

The Nagorno-Karabakh region saw war between the two nations in 2020, when Azerbaijan drove Armenian troops out of the region that Armenia had controlled since the 1990s. The conflict resulted in 6,500 deaths. The ceasefire between the two was brokered by Russia. 

Russian peacekeeping troops have been deployed in the region since the brokering of the ceasefire and Russia has recently expressed concern over tension in the area. Russia claims that soldiers from Azerbaijan have entered the peace region near the town of Farrukh and have breached the ceasefire. Azerbaijan has since denied this claim and emphasized that there has been no change in its military position. 

Armenia has relied on Russian influence in much of this conflict, but its thinking may change due to Russia’s recent actions. A Yeveran-based analyst remarked, “It is becoming obvious we can’t rely on Russia. Even if Russia gets out of this [the Ukraine war] in one piece, they may try to include us in the Union State [with Belarus], or sell us out to Turkey and Azerbaijan in exchange for concessions on issues more important to Russia, like Crimea or Donbas,” the analyst said. “So we need to find a settlement before either of those things happen, or at least we need a direct process with Azerbaijan and Turkey.

However, Armenian citizens are not all in favor of these peace talks. Armenians held opposition rallies in central Yerevan on April 5 to demand that the territory stay Armenian. They fear that Armenia will cede control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region to Azerbaijan. These citizens held banners stating “Artsakh will not be a part of Azerbaijan” and “For the sake of Artsakh, let’s save Armenia.”

While the complete result of the talks is unknown, Pashinyan's office said the two sides agreed to create "a bilateral commission on the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which will also be authorized to deal with questions of ensuring security and stability along the border." These talks are the first step towards de-escalating the tension in the region and potentially removing Russian influence from the area.