BREAKING: Armenian and Azeri Conflict

Armenia, a landlocked and relatively isolated country in the Caucasus region, has been at war with Azerbaijan over the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is inside the territory of Azerbaijan, but populated almost exclusively with ethnic Armenians. When the Soviet Union was in power, this was not an issue. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union and the resultant exodus of former Soviet Bloc countries, the region of Nagorno-Karabakh became an issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

This conflict has been going on in one form or another for over three decades. Unfortunately for Armenia, Azerbaijan has access to significant oil reserves, which they have used to bolster their military and project economic power throughout the region. Meanwhile, Armenia has depended on Russian soft power to support them, unfortunately with less than ideal results.

While Putin has punted a recent meeting between leaders, delaying it for another week, there are other hopes for reconciliation. Chief among them is the European Political Committee (ECP), which will meet in Chisinau, Moldova, on June 1 2023. While Russia and the Western Powers are interested in the results of this meeting, they will not be working together.

Instead, they are on the same page. However, there is a broader hope among world powers that the West and Russia may find common ground through negotiations around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. From this mutual understanding, it is hoped that headway may be made in the war between Russia and Ukraine before the conflict widens. But no clearly defined policies exist to offer reassurance for those concerned with regional stability in the greater Caucasus region.