Policy Note / Dr. Burcu Gültekin Punsmann

Unlocking Nakhichevan, the Gate of Orient - Şark Kapısı 

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The signature of the protocols on the establishment of diplomatic relations and the development of relations by the Turkish and the Armenian Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Zurich on 10 October 2009 brought winds of change in South Caucasus where the status quo characterized by conflicts divides, blockades and trade restrictions is far from being satisfactory.

With a change of vista, this new climate can improve the fate of Nakhichevan, the Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan completely separated geographically from the mother country and surrounded by Armenia. The protocols signed between in Turkey and Armenia reiterate the validity of the Treaty of Kars which defines in its Article V the status of Nakhichevan, and provide therefore an enhanced security guarantee to Nakhichevan. The process that has started can first help to unlock Nakhichevan before tackling the issue of the reintregration of Upper Karabakh into the South Caucasus region.