Nagorno-Karabakh – There can be no diplomatic solution without Azerbaijan

Yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Pashinyan of Armenia made an address to the nation. This followed two days of heavy assaults from Azerbaijan and a televised address from President Aliyev the previous day, announcing his intention to continue waging war.

International media outlets were quick to single out one aspect of the Prime Minister’s speech and there soon emerged a slew of headlines reading, “Pashinyan – there can be no diplomatic solution”. We at the European Friends of Armenia would call on those reading these reports to reflect more carefully on the wider context of those remarks.

President Aliyev has repeatedly stated during the past three weeks that fighting will continue until Armenia commits to a concrete timetable for withdrawal. By this, he has also made clear that he is not simply referring to the seven surrounding districts, but to Nagorno Karabakh itself. It is enacting a military solution to the conflict as we speak.

Anyone even remotely familiar with the conflict can soon see the implications of this. Azerbaijan foresees no diplomatic solution and is actively waging a military offensive to solve the conflict by force. In these circumstances, it is clear for anybody to conclude that there can be no diplomatic solution.

The words of the Prime Minister have stirred a controversial but probably necessary wake up call as to the limits of a diplomatic solution without Azerbaijan.