Azerbaijan and Armenia negotiate in Brussels as Baku criticizes Moscow

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 16 Jul 2023 by Alex Teddy

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On July 15 the President of Azerbaijan met the Armenian Prime Minister. The EU facilitated the talks. This is the 6th time they have met since 2021. The President of the European Council asked the two leaders to return to Brussels in the fall of the 2023. The US had also hosted talks between them, as has Moscow in the last 3 years.  On July 16 Azerbaijan said that Russia was not upholding the ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020. That agreement, signed in Moscow, stated that Armenia must not send arms to pro-Armenian Forces in Nagorno Karabakh. Nagorno Karabakh is legally Azerbaijani but some of it has been occupied by Armenia since 1991. Its population was 80% Armenian even before 1991.  Baku says that Moscow is a guarantor of the agreement and must ensure Armenian good faith. Russia has peacekeepers in the disputed region. Armenia complains that Russia has not stopped Azerbaijan from blocking a vital road for months. Azerbaijan said that contraband was found in Red Cross vehicles crossing into Armenian-held territory. Azerbaijan's openly criticizing Russia would not have been unthinkable a few years ago. It is a sign how Russia's clout in the region has diminished that Baku dare do so. Russia has nothing to spare, so it cannot help Armenia. Nor can it afford to provoke Azerbaijan, which is an ally of Turkey.