Who can provide Security for Armenia after Azerbaijan’s Takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh?

BENYAMIN POGHOSYAN, Chairman of the Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies in Yerevan; Senior Fellow on Foreign Policy at the Applied Policy Research Institute (APRI) of Armenia The South Caucasus is home to several protracted conflicts that have progressed in varying directions over recent years. The September 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh resulted in a complete victory for Azerbaijan. Opting for force over negotiations, Baku launched another military offensive in September 2023, which led to the mass exodus of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. Meanwhile, in Georgia, political polarization has been on the rise in light of the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2024. On December 14, the European Council granted Georgia candidate status which was welcomed by Georgian people. However, it remains to be seen whether Georgia manages to fulfill conditionalities in order to further progress on the European integration path. The IIP, in cooperation with partners, organized an expert conference on 27 November 2023 to discuss ongoing developments in the South Caucasus and assess the EU’s role in the region.