Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal must not leave prisoners behind - The Washington Times

The recent parliamentary election victory of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gives new momentum to the U.S.-backed peace process with Azerbaijan, analyst Darren G. Spinck wrote in an opinion piece published by The Washington Times.

Spinck is a U.S.-based policy analyst and consultant who serves as managing partner of Washington Consulting Solutions, an associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, managing director of the Janus Forum, and a nonresident fellow at the Danube Institute.

“The result builds on President Trump’s breakthrough at the White House last August, when he brought Armenia and Azerbaijan together and helped turn years of stalled diplomacy into a framework to preserve peace and open regional trade. At the center is the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) Framework, which will connect Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenian territory and make Armenia a gateway between the Caspian and Europe. TRIPP offers significant benefits. For Armenia, it will transform the country’s landlocked position into an economic asset by attracting investment and reducing transport costs. It will also help preserve peace by giving Armenia’s neighbors a practical stake in routes that remain under Armenian sovereignty and jurisdiction,” the author said in the article titled Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal must not leave prisoners behind. 

He continued that TRIPP will strengthen America’s role in a strategically important region without requiring troops or open-ended aid. It will also create commercial opportunities for U.S. companies as new transport links are built across the South Caucasus. These gains are substantial and merit support.

“But a settlement cannot rest on maps and trade routes alone. One of the most urgent tests of Mr. Trump’s Caucasus deal is whether it can secure the return of the 19 Armenian prisoners still held in Azerbaijan in connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Releasing them would show that the agreement values people as well as trade,” the analyst said. He added that Trump can support the peace framework while pressing for their release.

“No agreement will feel complete to Armenians while families are still waiting for prisoners to return.”