Are we witnessing the final act in a decades-old conflict, or the start of a new chapter of hardship and strife? Ethnic Armenians are fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh by the thousands after last week's lightning-fast capture of that enclave. They are dismissing guarantees for their safety by Azerbaijan's president, in part because of a long history of bloodshed and ethnic cleansing by both sides.
Ethnic Armenians are also wary of Ilham Aliyev's choice of company and location for that offer of reassurance: Azerbaijan's own enclave inside Armenia, Nakhchivan. Baku has a backer: Turkey and its leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The pair were in Nakhchivan for talks on Monday. With traditional mediator Russia showing the cold shoulder these days to Yerevan, what are the prospects for EU-sponsored talks and, more broadly, for a peace that can last?
Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Juliette Laurain and Imen Mellaz.
