Armenia said it is ready to recognize the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of neighboring Azerbaijan under certain conditions, a compromise that could help end a decades-old conflict and revive an impoverished region.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian told a press conference on May 22 that any recognition by Yerevan of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan would be dependent on guaranteeing the rights and security of ethnic Armenians living in the mountainous region.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been engaged in a dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh since the late 1980s, when ethnic Armenians comprising a majority in the territory demanded it be transferred from Soviet Azerbaijan to Soviet Armenia.
A civil war erupted following the collapse of the Soviet Union with Nagorno-Karabakh declaring its independence from Azerbaijan. However, its independence is not recognized by most of the international community.
Baku regained control over part of the territory following a six-week war in 2020. The two sides signed a truce that is currently monitored by Russian peacekeeping forces.
However, the truce has not brought peace to the region with occasional battles flaring up between the two sides. The latest clash occurred earlier this month.
Pashinian’s May 22 statement comes a week after he met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels at the European Union’s invitation to discuss a durable peace agreement.
The EU called the meeting, the latest in a series between the two leaders, a positive step forward. However, any lasting peace could still take significant time to hammer out and overcome domestic opposition in Armenia.
A durable peace would allow investment to flow into the South Caucasus, a poor but strategically located region and a key transport hub.
