Repeated attempts from Baku to force Yerevan to negotiate may be having the opposite effect, as the government is now vulnerable to being seen as easily bullied.
Uzbekistan has been discussed as the most likely contender to accept some sort of U.S. military presence, even as Tashkent consistently denies the possibility.
A dispute over whether or not Azerbaijan had expanded its military presence on the border further has sharpened a longstanding dispute between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan released two truck drivers whose arrest sparked the tensions, while Iran agreed to forbid trucks from entering Karabakh from now on.