What Armenia Should Do to Avoid 'Imposed Peace': The Washington Post

Amid the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the likelihood of progress in the normalization of relations between Armenia and its neighbors—Azerbaijan and Turkey—is diminishing, writes David Ignatius, a columnist for The Washington Post.

The journalist of Armenian descent specifically noted that due to the Ukrainian crisis, the issues of the South Caucasus might become secondary for countries interested in the region, whereas for the U.S. and Russia, this matter could become a focal point.

The author of the article points out that both Russia and the West are trying to keep these processes under their control. According to Ignatius, for Armenia to avoid the so-called 'imposed peace', the U.S. and Europe must be involved in the process, and a revival of the OSCE Minsk Group, which has been boycotted by Moscow, is necessary.

“At the same time, the activity of the European Union as a mediator is noticeable, with the efforts that led to the meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev in Brussels last month,” The Washington Post writes.

On the eve of the meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan on May 13 in Dushanbe, the author writes that Russia will once again try to expand its influence over the negotiation process.

According to Ignatius, the foreign ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia will discuss the peace agreement between Yerevan and Baku in the capital of Tajikistan.

The Washington Post columnist recently spoke with Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, who visited the U.S. about the peace processes in the region. “We need to look not only to the past but also to the future. If Armenia continues to play a stubborn game with its neighbors, our region will find itself in a deadlock,” Mirzoyan said during his conversation with Ignatius.

The former ambassador of Azerbaijan to the U.S. and now to Great Britain, Elin Suleymanov, also shared insights on regional processes with the American publication. He expressed a moderately optimistic assessment of the situation. “Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that it hopes for a swift resolution and the signing of a peace agreement,” Suleymanov said.