Hopes that Armenia and Azerbaijan might take a step towards normalising relations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29) in Baku this month were dashed when Armenia failed to send a delegation to the event, despite receiving an official invitation.
The decision to host COP 29 in Baku was already controversial. Armenia had supported Azerbaijan’s bid to host the conference in a joint declaration last year, in exchange for the release of Armenian prisoners held by Azerbaijan and a promise of future dialogue. In return, Baku released 32 Armenian soldiers, while Yerevan freed two Azerbaijani soldiers. This gesture was seen as a sign that both sides might be moving towards greater cooperation.
However, despite not officially rejecting the invitation, Armenian National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan made it clear days before the event that participation was morally wrong for him as long as Armenian prisoners remained imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Some pro-Armenian commentators also argued that Yerevan should only attend if Azerbaijan took concrete steps to release the detainees. Despite speculation that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan or Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan might attend, not even a small low-level delegation was sent.
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Nonetheless, some positive news emerged from the conference when U.S. Ambassador to Baku Mark Libby unexpectedly announced that hydrologists and engineers from both Armenia and Azerbaijan were working together on integrated water management for trans-boundary rivers. While no details were provided, it at least demonstrated that, even amid bilateral tensions, there are areas where the two countries could still collaborate.
Azerbaijan has said that negotiations to normalise relations with Armenia will continue in December, and both countries have expressed cautious optimism that a formal peace agreement is still possible. Even so, the hope that the climate conference could serve as a platform for a breakthrough has been quashed, and the future of the peace process remains uncertain.
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