Foreign ministers of still-at-war Armenia and Azerbaijan hold talks in DC

Foreign ministers from Azerbaijan and Armenia will meet in Washington D.C. today for another round of sponsored multilateral talks aimed at solving their ongoing territorial dispute.

Tensions between the neighbouring Caucasian countries have remained high since the 1990’s, when the two sides fought a war over the disputed shared territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Representatives from the US, Russia and France, who have facilitated past talks, will be present.

Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov ‘s meeting with Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan comes as Armenia conducts military exercises on its side of the territory. This has already diminished prospects for any progress in the talks and is likely to play politically in both countries. While both parties have claimed a decline in ceasefire violations since the last round of talks in April, defence exercises could undermine this progress and any effort to get both sides to cooperate economically.

With the economies of both countries relying on natural resources or agriculture, joint economic cooperation is the most viable track to reduce tensions and ensure the continuation of talks. This could occur through oil exploration or agricultural production financed through long-term public and private investment commitments.  However, no significant announcements are expected beyond a commitment to continue dialogue and another round of talks.

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