The US Tries and Fails to Bring Peace to Nagorno-Karabakh

Background: The fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in Azerbaijan controlled by the local ethnic Armenian population, has continued despite several cease-fire attempts brokered by various parties, including two negotiated by Moscow. Russia, Turkey and now Iran, which remained largely on the sidelines until recently, are increasingly concerned about the situation. What Happened: Over the weekend, the United States negotiated a cease-fire agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but like the two Russian-brokered deals, it was short-lived. The cease-fire was supposed to start at 8 a.m. local time on Oct. 26, but by 8:05 a.m., Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said Armenia had violated it, and by 8:45 a.m., Armenia’s Defense Ministry made similar charges. Shortly thereafter, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev criticized the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group for its failure to resolve the conflict and said the fighting would end only when Armenia withdraws from Azerbaijani territory. Meanwhile, Iran has bolstered its defenses along the Azerbaijani border where mortars have landed. Over the weekend, the Iranian army was put on high alert and carried out military drills in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province. On Monday, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, paid a visit to […]