Russia hosts post-conflict talks with Armenia and Azerbaijan
A trilateral working group comprised of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet today for the first time.
The group was formed in the wake of a November ceasefire that ended the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. While the ceasefire has so far held, neither signatory is fully satisfied with the outcome. In particular, for Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan, the ceasefire agreement left important questions unanswered regarding border demarcation and restarting international trade.
The working group, jointly chaired by the deputy prime ministers of the three members, was created to oversee the lifting of all economic and transport barriers in the region. This first meeting will likely focus on the re-establishment of the Nakhchivan corridor, a route that would connect Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan directly, bypassing the current need to travel through Iran or Turkey.
Turkey will also be able to directly access Azerbaijan without the need for travel through Iran. As such, expect the trade volume between Ankara and Baku to increase. Though Armenia has expressed some doubts over the ceasefire, Yerevan may also support the establishment of the corridor since it would provide the country with a land link to the Eurasian Economic Union, an economic goal for Armenia in recent years.
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