Eurasianet

Yerevan cut relations 10 years ago following Hungary’s extradition of an Azerbaijani soldier who murdered an Armenian counterpart. But the post-war reality has pushed Yerevan to reconsider.

Questioning the territorial integrity of the neighboring country, once a taboo topic, is increasingly entering official discourse both in Baku and Tehran.

Tens of thousands gathered the day before the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia were meeting to work on a peace agreement that many Armenians oppose.

Tehran appears alarmed both by Azerbaijan’s saber-rattling against Armenia and by a new EU monitoring mission to Armenia’s border with Iran.

The accusation comes as a new EU monitoring mission prepares to deploy to the border, and as bellicose rhetoric from Baku is again on the rise.

The move comes as tension along the border had reached unprecedented heights even as the two countries are moving toward signing a peace agreement.

Baku promised to prosecute if the videos are determined to be authentic. But past experience suggests the prosecutions won’t go far.

As Baku steps up its threats, is Yerevan willing to make heavy concessions under the barrel of a gun?

Nancy Pelosi is the highest-ranking American official ever to visit Armenia, and it came at a critical time during the country’s conflict with Azerbaijan.

Days before Azerbaijan launched an assault against Armenia, Armenians began using a new, Azerbaijan-constructed road to travel between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.

In the wake of Azerbaijan’s offensive, Armenia’s leader signaled that he would be willing to cede control of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan.

The attacks come as Russia, Armenia’s security guarantor, has been getting routed in Ukraine.

Baku is venturing ever closer to openly promoting secession for Iran’s large ethnic Azerbaijani minority.

Javakheti, a region once notorious for neglect and separatist tendencies, is steadily building ties with the rest of Georgia.

The escalation came as Azerbaijan has been trying to push Armenia to speed up the construction of a new road connecting Armenia to Karabakh.

The two sides have promised to continue consultations on “integration,” though that is a buzzword that analysts suggested was a face-saving measure.

The last two meetings between the two countries’ leaders have been in Brussels. Moscow has noticed.

While the new de facto president praised ties with Russia, he did not mention the referendum that his predecessor called on his way out of office.

The territory’s outgoing leader says the vote will take place in July. But he’ll be out of office by then and neither his successor, nor Russia itself, appear as interested in it as he is.

While Anatoliy Bibilov tried to boost his electoral chances by tying himself more tightly to Russia, analysts say his defeat will still not likely result in any substantial change in relations with Moscow.

The incumbent has come under fire for a controversial military deployment to Ukraine, and it’s not clear that a proposal to annex the territory to Russia will help him.

Under EU mediation, the two countries agreed to start work on a peace agreement that could finally end their decades-long conflict.

If Armenians stay in Karabakh under the Azerbaijani flag, it would represent an exception to the otherwise zero-sum game of territorial control in the region.

It’s not the first time the breakaway Georgian territory’s de facto authorities have signaled the intention. In the past Russia has blown the calls off, but its calculations may be different now.

As Russian forces perform more poorly than expected in Ukraine, the Russian peacekeeping mission in Karabakh is coming under increased scrutiny.