The Washington meeting confirmed the role of the US as mediator in place of Russia. Many issues remain to be resolved, including the international disputes between Yerevan and Baku, borders and prisoners. But the central issue is the opening of the so-called ‘Zangezur Corridor’, renamed the ‘Trump Corridor’ and under US control. The challenge for the Armenian Church.
After the incident involving a plane carrying 67 people that crashed in December due to “interference” with the war in Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Russia are once again in the midst of a diplomatic crisis over a police raid. In the background is the crisis of Russian influence in the Caucasus, increasingly overshadowed by Turkish activism in the region.
Two archbishops (including Galstanyan) are in prison after a police raid on the patriarchate in Echmiadzin. Pashinyan directly accuses Catholicos Karekin II and calls for his removal, while the Armenian clergy responds by invoking the excommunication of the prime minister. According to the government, Moscow is behind the Church's ‘manoeuvres’, but other voices denounce the use of branding all opposition with ‘the stamp of Kremlin spies’. In the background are geopolitical balances and negotiations with Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan is on the front line of the conflict between Israel and Iran, with its ambivalent role as a strategic partner of Tel Aviv and complex and contradictory relations with Tehran. But neighbouring Armenia also openly expresses fears that the conflict could be protracted, involving other countries in the region.
Protests erupt during the visit of Moscow’s Foreign Minister, whom many Armenians blame for failing to support them against Azerbaijan. Russia offers reassurances on the importance of "allied relations" between the two nations, also aimed at countering Armenia’s rapprochement with Europe. Yerevan, however, has no plans to withdraw from the CSTO.
The Eurasian military alliance has presented new guidelines for law enforcement operations to be applied in all member states to prevent ‘terrorist infiltration’. Last year 420 illegal organisations were identified, but there were also many summary actions against Tajiks after the attack on Krokus City Hall. Dushanbe is insisting that its citizens fully legalise their residence status in Russia by the end of April.
