Following months of negotiations and supposed dew diligence, on August 8, 2025, the leaders of the Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan announced the signing of a joint declaration, brokered by US President Donald Trump that has codified the surrender of Armenia’s sovereignty.
The unilateral concession of an “unimpeded connectivity” between Azerbaijan and its enclave of Nakhichevan through Armenian territory is the latest appeasement effort undertaken by the Armenian government that has yet to yield any positive result that benefits Armenia and the Armenian people.
Many issues such as the sham trials of the Armenian hostages, the continued occupation of sovereign Armenian territory, the fate of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, the destruction of centuries old religious and cultural heritage have taken a backseat for pompous political declarations of peace and reconciliation that do not conform to the reality on the ground.
These negotiations, conducted without seeking the consent or approval of the Armenian people, have resulted in considerable concessions by Armenia while the government struggles to even explain how the measures will be effectively implemented or what type of enforcement mechanism will be employed to ensure compliance on behalf of Azerbaijan to refrain from continuing its aggressive military activities.
Taking into account the past actions of Azerbaijan, with its genocidal ethnic cleansing of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, the continued occupation of sovereign Armenian territory and its multiple violations of ceasefire agreements and the tripartite agreement of 2020, it is evident and even imperative that external powers, who claim to have a vested interest in achieving peace in the region, remain steadfast to ensure that Azerbaijan complies with its commitments. As such, the dissolution of the Minsk Group format of the OSCE is ill-advised.
On this matter, EAFJD President Kaspar Karampetian calls on the leaders in Europe to fulfill their commitments towards peace and international law:
“Azerbaijan continues to use the threat of force to demand concessions from the Armenian people. Appeasement has continued to fail and is historically viewed as a terrible deterrent of war, something that is painfully obvious for Europeans. It is necessary then to understand that without increased pressure on Azerbaijan, the conditions for “peace” will continue to accrue and erode the independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia.
Karampetian further stressed the importance of transparency-
The Armenian people deserve to know and consent to the details of such agreements that are being imposed on them by a government that is not even able to adequately explain how its implementation will take place. Territorial swaps, opening of a corridor in Syunik, as President Trump called it, and the dissolution of the Minsk Group offer only disastrous disadvantages for Armenia. Moreover, the complete disregard and abandonment of the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh is similarly shameful”.
