AIR Center criticises Carnegie article over one-sided approach to Baku-Yerevan conflict

The Center for Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center) has issued a response to an article by Bashir Kitachayev titled "Azerbaijan's 'Neither War Nor Peace' Strategy Is Limiting Rapprochement With Armenia," published on January 7 on the official website of the Carnegie Endowment’s Russia and Eurasia Center.

In its response, the AIR Center stated that the article is not the first example of the Russia and Eurasia Center of the Carnegie Endowment adopting a one-sided position on Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, both during the active phase of the conflict and in the context of the current peace process. The center argued that this “ideological rigidity prevents a balanced and objective assessment of the processes taking place between Armenia and Azerbaijan," Caliber.Az reports per local media. 

The center specifically addressed the claim that Azerbaijan’s post-conflict strategy is ambiguous.

"The article under review claims that Azerbaijan's post-conflict strategy is ambiguous. In other words, while Azerbaijan officially promotes a peace agenda, hostile narratives in relation to Armenia are being maintained for domestic political purposes. According to the article, peace is viewed in Azerbaijan not as an end goal, but as a means to shape a situation that can be managed and controlled by sustaining the image of an external enemy. It is evident that such an interpretation is based on a selective analysis of developments and fails to take into account the legal, historical, and structural realities that shaped the past Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, as well as the current peace process," the Center wrote in its response. 

The AIR Center also criticised the article for not addressing anti-Azerbaijani sentiments in Armenia. The response notes that the author overlooks the presence of such sentiments in Armenian political rhetoric, public debates, educational materials, and social media, which the center views as “an asymmetric approach.”

Highlighting Azerbaijan’s practical steps toward normalisation, the AIR Center pointed to recent initiatives to facilitate regional cooperation.

“As another important step, Baku recently facilitated the supply of petroleum products to Armenia via the Georgian route. These steps clearly demonstrate Azerbaijan's readiness to normalize relations and strengthen trust between the parties,” the response reads. 

The center also noted that Azerbaijan has allowed the transit of Kazakh and Russian grain to Armenia through its territory, a move not possible during the years of conflict.