"Armenia and Azerbaijan are torn between the West and Russia"

Armenia and Azerbaijan find themselves caught in a complex geopolitical struggle between the West and Russia, and this tension will be the focus of a meeting on July 25 in Moscow, where the foreign ministers of the three countries will convene.

The Russian Foreign Ministry made the announcement, stating that the meeting aims to de-escalate the situation surrounding the Karabakh conflict and strengthen the implementation of trilateral agreements between Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia made on various dates in November 2020, November 2021, and October 2022.

Over the years, peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia have occurred regularly, with mediation efforts from both Russia and the European Union (EU). Recently, on July 15, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held another trilateral meeting in Brussels with President of the European Council Charles Michel and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Prior to that, Russia invited the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to Moscow, which some local experts saw as an attempt to exert pressure on Baku and Yerevan.

Rasim Musabayov, a member of Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis Committee on international relations and interparliamentary relations, stressed in an interview with Turan the importance of continuing negotiations until an agreement is reached. While he did not hold high expectations for the outcome of the Moscow meeting, he believed any progress should be welcomed, rejecting the notion that Moscow's involvement would automatically lead to an unsuccessful outcome.

Azer Gasimli, the head of the Institute of Political Management, in an interview with RadioAzadlig  pointed out that the main challenge lies in the lack of communication between the West and Russia. This has resulted in Armenia and Azerbaijan being torn between the two sides, with each country trying to navigate their interests on different platforms. Gasimli argued that until the West or Russia emerges victorious in their competition, this situation will persist. If Russia were to face defeat in Ukraine and withdraw from the South Caucasus, Armenia and Azerbaijan would likely gravitate towards the Brussels-Washington platform. On the other hand, if Russia succeeds, both countries would likely align themselves more closely with Moscow. The current geopolitical landscape has left Armenia and Azerbaijan in a delicate balancing act, seeking to advance their respective interests amid the ongoing competition between major powers.