Armenia votes – Russia piles on the pressure

Armenia’s borders with its neighbours to the west and east are still closed but could be opened following the election. This is a politically sensitive issue in the region, a commentary piece in T24 suggests:

“The ambassador [of Azerbaijan to Turkey] stated that after the election Armenia would amend its constitution, following which the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace agreement would be signed, ‘and then the borders between Armenia and Turkey, as well as between Armenia and Azerbaijan, will be opened.’ This statement caused outrage, because with it the ambassador had effectively dictated to Turkey when it should open its border. […] If Turkey were to open the land border, Armenia’s dependence on Baku would diminish and Baku’s carrot-and-stick tactics would come to nothing. The suspicion that Azerbaijan is putting pressure on Ankara to keep the border closed is therefore hard to dismiss.”