Leaders from around the world recently gathered in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Lofty speeches were delivered, and resolutions were passed by various UN institutions – but in reality, the UN and other organizations that spend billions of dollars of public funds on conflict resolution rarely deliver results.
A clear example is the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Six years ago, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a full-scale war for control of the Karabakh region and adjacent territories, which had been under Armenian occupation for close to three decades. Since that war, the South Caucasus region has undergone tremendous improvement as the two governments work together toward regional security and prosperity.
The extent of the cooperation developing between Armenia and Azerbaijan is exceptional. As the world scrambles for new energy routes that bypass Iran, Yerevan and Baku are working on establishing trade in both electricity and natural gas. Azerbaijan is already providing significant volumes of fuel and other refined products to Armenia at discounted rates.
Five main lessons can be drawn from the new status quo in the South Caucasus.
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