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.
Officials in Karabakh are remaining tight-lipped about Iranian fuel imports, and say that Baku is using the issue as a pretext to drive out the region’s Armenian population.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan released two truck drivers whose arrest sparked the tensions, while Iran agreed to forbid trucks from entering Karabakh from now on.
The government is heavily publicizing the concept, which could increase the economic efficiency of rural communities but also place them under greater central control.