Are the peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia escalating so close to their goal and is the next war in the Caucasus imminent?
Six months after the Armenian side lost control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region to Azerbaijan, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is warning of a new war with his neighbor. If Armenia does not also agree to the return of the four Azerbaijani villages it has controlled since the early 1990s, war could break out “by the end of the week,” Russia’s state news agency TASS said.
According to the report, Pashinyan spoke to residents of the border area where villages have been uninhabited for more than 30 years. Armenia suffered a bitter defeat last September when Azerbaijani forces took control of Nagorno-Karabakh in a lightning offensive, a second step since 2020. The region’s estimated 100,000 ethnic Armenians then fled to Armenia.
Strategically important villages
Both neighboring countries subsequently expressed their willingness to sign an official peace treaty to resolve the decades-long conflict. However, the talks stalled over disagreements such as the demarcation of the 1,000-kilometer-long shared border. Azerbaijan is also pushing for the return of the four villages and several small enclaves.
Azerbaijan: “Agreement closer than ever”
However, the villages mentioned are located on an important connecting road between the capital Yerevan and the Georgian border and are therefore also important for the Armenian side. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev recently said a peace deal between the two neighbors is “closer than ever before.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
