Negotiations without Intermediaries: Post-Conflict Settlement between Azerbaijan and Armenia

The article deals with the key events and relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the first year of the post-conflict period . Special attention is turned to importance of bilateral negotiations leading to a “peace agreement”. Experts view the exclusion of mediators from the conflict resolution process in different ways. Some talk about serious risks that the bilateral format poses for Yerevan, as the loser and therefore obviously the weaker side. Others see in this format a significant potential for settlement, as the intervention of mediators (OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs) has already shown its inefficiency. Such interference in the negotiation process will inevitably lead to introduction of an agenda that does not correspond to the goals and objectives of a peaceful settlement, and can push the parties towards a new confrontation. Formal non-participation of intermediaries in negotiations does not mean that there is no indirect influence of the third parties on the settlement process. Therefore, post-conflict cooperation between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the medium term contains multidirectional trends. Possibility of a settlement within the framework of bilateral cooperation between Baku and Yerevan still remains.