Vagif Khachatryan, a 68-year-old veteran of the First Karabakh War in the early 1990s, pleaded not guilty but was convicted of crimes including "genocide."
Armenia is increasingly keen on Western mediation while Azerbaijan prefers to see the issue settled with the participation of regional powers like Russia and Turkey.
Armenia doesn't trust Azerbaijan's recent actions and rhetoric indicating that it's deprioritizing its ambition for a corridor through Armenia to its exclave Nakhchivan.
The decision comes amid the mass exodus of Armenians from Karabakh and after the arrest by Azerbaijan of one of the region's most prominent former officials.
Russian diplomacy and Turkmenistan's evolving foreign relations amidst president Berdymukhamedov’s growing influence. And more in this week's Akhal-Teke Bulletin.
The Armenian prime minister said that, while Armenia was prepared to accommodate those leaving Karabakh, they would not be under direct threat if they stayed put, under Azerbaijani rule.
Baku says it won't stop until it has achieved the dissolution of the Armenian-populated region's de facto government and the disbanding of its armed forces.
