Eurasianet

As a new border commission prepares to start work, it will have to reckon with persistent disagreements over what to do with a handful of quirks of Soviet border-drawing.

It is a response to Azerbaijan’s earlier five-point proposal, but the secrecy around it has only increased suspicion among Armenians.

Many outsiders have been calling on Georgia to take advantage of Russian weakness to reclaim its lost territories. But Georgians themselves aren’t having it.

Even as opposition mounts to the government’s negotiating strategy with Azerbaijan, it’s unclear whether the protest leaders can offer a credible alternative.

The 2020 war, and now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have significantly shifted the landscape for the negotiations.

Armenia’s willingness to accept Azerbaijani control over Nagorno-Karabakh comes with an expectation that Baku will make reciprocal compromises. But there are little indications so far what those might be.

As the Armenian government moves toward significant concessions, some in Karabakh are exploring a radical solution: joining Russia.

They say that the parliament is standing aside while the executive branch unilaterally makes consequential decisions about the future of Nagorno-Karabakh.

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

Many Armenians fear that the government is preparing to cede control over Nagorno-Karabakh and are demanding that their prime minister renounce such a concession.

Yerevan in the post-Soviet era has had no viable alternative to a reliance on Moscow.

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.

Some in the breakaway territory worry that, by getting involved militarily in Ukraine, they could be exposing themselves to an attack from Georgia.

Talks between the neighbors to reestablish diplomatic and trade links have taken on new urgency as Russia’s invasion spooks the region.

The shutdown comes amid an unusual cold spell, as well as a spike in regional tensions following the launch of the war in Ukraine.