Armenians pride themselves on adopting Christianity as their national religion as early as 301 AD. It has become an almost unassailable feature of their identity as a people despite a history stretching back much further. It has been religion that stands as a unifying factor for many. Few therefore expected that over 1,700 years later it would usher in such a period of domestic instability and division.
The demise of the OSCE Minsk Group, an internationally mandated effort to mediate between Armenia and Azerbaijan, ends an era that spanned almost three decades. Cochaired by France, Russia, and the United States, it failed to achieve its goal amid rivalry between the co-chair countries themselves and disagreement between the parties.
The Center of Analysis of International Relations has just published my latest on the continuing impasse and discussion on Baku’s demand to remove the current preamble to Armenia’s Constitution that I’ve been consistently covering since late January last year. This has also includes pieces mentioning attempts by various commentators in Armenia and Azerbaijan including AIR’s Farid Shafiyev.