Jirair Libaridian

In view of the central role bilateral negotiations have played in reaching the signing of these documents, one wonders why have the two countries consented to give the credit to a third party and, for that matter to the US. The parties realize, certainly, that doing so would constitute a direct rejection of any role for Moscow. It appears that each of the two republics, Azerbaijan and Armenia, had one or more reasons to do so. For Armenia, this was the ultimate response to Russia’s failure to honor its bilateral; and multi-lateral commitments to Karabagh and Armenia beginning with the 2020 war. For Azerbaijan, it was, most probably, a combination of the need for Western acceptance of President Aliyev and his regime and Baku’s need for US support for new investments in its hydrocarbon economy.