The defeat of Armenia in the second Karabakh war dramatically altered the regional political arrangements that had shaped Armenia’s foreign and security policy. Prior to the independence of Armenia, a movement for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, and then the victory in the 1990s defined the contours of Armenia’s foreign policy and international stance in general. But the 44-day war changed the facts on the ground. Henceforth, Armenian foreign policy will be implemented in a completely different environment and the revision of the core concepts of Armenia’s foreign policy is a matter of urgency.
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to mediate the return of Armenian POWs who are currently held in Azerbaijani custody after the war.
In the past, Ottoman Sultans and Russian Tsars carved out their rival empires in the South Caucasus.
Combatants rushing to war think it is a zero-sum game, but all too soon it becomes a minus-sum game.