Eurasianet

Emboldened by Russia’s setbacks in Ukraine, Baku is trying to reduce Moscow’s role in the peace process.

An uptick in violence and rising political tensions are calling attention to the fate of the sole road in and out of the breakaway territory.

Azerbaijani military advances have created facts on the ground, as the two countries work on an agreement demarcating their shared border.

With Karabakh’s fate in the balance, Ruben Vardanyan takes office while suggesting a new framework for coexistence: living “next to” Azerbaijanis, but not together.

The organization has been facing accusations of political bias in its investigations (or lack thereof) into cultural heritage in Karabakh.

While few support concessions on Karabakh, efforts to mobilize against the government on the issue have so far been dominated by the discredited political opposition.

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.

A new $100 million project run by members of both presidents’ families highlights the tight relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan.

“I was born here, I spent the best days of my life here. I don’t want to leave, but I’m afraid that the situation will just keep getting worse.”

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.

Azerbaijani IDPs are eager to return home. But they are uncertain about how their new lives are going to look.

The move comes as the fate of the de facto state appears ever more precarious, and it is not clear what Ruben Vardanyan’s wealth, authority, or Moscow connections might mean.

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?

Immediately following the heavy fighting, pro-government media promoted an irredentist Azerbaijani project on Armenian territory. Then, just as quickly, they disavowed it.

Several activists and politicians have been branded “traitors” on government-linked social media after they expressed their opposition to Azerbaijan’s recent attacks against Armenia.

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.

Enthusiasm for this round of fighting is less than in 2020, with some prominent figures even openly opposing the new escalation.

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

Tension between the two sides has been exacerbated by continuing disagreement of the nature of a road that would connect the two parts of Azerbaijan through Armenian territory.

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

One was arrested, and both the Karabakh de facto leadership and the opposition in Armenia have come to his defense.

Ruben Vardanyan has said his move is a patriotic gesture and he has dropped hints about entering politics. But others wonder if international sanctions against Russia may be motivating him, too.