Turkish-Armenian Thaw
Implications for the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
In October 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed an agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of borders. The borders were closed in 1993, when the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict escalated into a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Now there exists a chance of resolving the conflict peacefully. Were Armenia, under pressure from Turkey and the West, to partially evacuate the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan might possibly be prepared to renounce violence. If there is no progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Turkish-Armenian rapprochement could conversely also lead to an increase in tensions in the southern Caucasus.
(Osteuropa 6/2010, pp. 117–130)