Tag: border

A day after the trilateral agreement ending the 2020 Artsakh War was signed, the first contingents of Russian peacekeepers were deployed. Six months in, clarifications regarding the size, mandate and mission of the peacekeepers are still not clear.

Armenia’s Government must quickly shape a coherent and powerful vision of what it wants to gain from the transport talks. If they get it wrong, the country is at risk of being outmaneuvered by Azerbaijan and taken advantage of by Russia.

Azerbaijan and Turkey are highly incentivized to make the Meghri corridor a reality as soon as possible. For Azerbaijan it’s to have a direct link with its exclave of Nakhijevan. For Turkey, it opens up a direct connection with Azerbaijan and the Turkic world beyond.

The lifting of blockades is presented as a benefit for Armenia, but some business leaders doubt that the Government is prepared for accompanying risks to the Armenian economy.

The November 10 ceasefire agreement ended the 2020 Artsakh War, but the issue of demarcating the new state borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been a major concern since then.

The 2020 Artsakh War changed the geopolitical picture in the South Caucasus, impacting all the countries in the region. While there were clear winners and losers, some countries both won and lost.

Volunteers and mayors have been left to fend for themselves as Azerbaijani troops walk up to and past the edges of their border communities in an area that was never demarcated as an international border.

Border settlements are unequivocally and strategically vital for the security of Armenia and Artsakh. Protecting them militarily, economically and socially needs to be a national priority.

Justin Tomczyk traces the history of the Armenian-Turkish border spanning from Armenia’s incorporation into the USSR to the present day, touching upon the Zurich Protocols and reflecting on the viability of a future normalization process.