Peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia? A Conversation with Ambassador Elchin Amirbayov

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Azerbaijan’s victory over Armenia in the Second Karabakh War in 2020 led to a peace process that began auspiciously but then stalled. For over two months, the two sides have been locked in a bitter disagreement over the Lachin corridor, the mountainous road that links Armenia to the ethnic Armenian enclave in Karabakh. According to international law, the corridor is in the Lachin District of Azerbaijan, but in keeping with the armistice agreement of 2020, a Russian peacekeeping force is in de facto control. Azerbaijan accuses Armenia (and, by implication, Russia and Iran) of exploiting the corridor and the enclave to shift the balance of power against Azerbaijan and prevent a peace deal. Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of blocking the corridor and, thereby, creating a humanitarian crisis in the Armenian sectors of Karabakh. Despite this ongoing controversy, in recent weeks reports indicate that Armenian and Azerbaijani negotiators—with the help of Washington, Brussels, and Moscow—are moving forward on peace talks. What is the state of play on these issues? What is at stake for the United States? How should the Biden administration proceed?

To answer these questions, Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran hosts a discussion between Ambassador Elchin Amirbayov, the assistant to the first vice president of Azerbaijan, and Hudson Senior Fellow Luke Coffey.