The impact of Turkish-Armenian relations on the resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

The unsolved conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh and problematic Turkish-Armenian relations are the main sources of instability in South Caucasus. For historic and ethnic reasons, both Azerbaijan and Armenia claim the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey closed its border with Armenia as an expression of solidarity with Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh war in the early nineties. Azerbaijan was military defeated and Armenia took control over one fifth of the Azerbaijani territory. Signing two protocols on the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia in 2009 raised hopes that this could have a positive impact also on the resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. If the protocols were ratified, this assumption would be probably fulfilled. However, the protocols have not been ratified so far. Considering other factors, any significant progress in any of these issues cannot be expected in the near future