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Former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, Matthew Bryza published an article in Washington Post addressing the active participation of Moscow in the process of re-establishing the ceasefire and Washington’s passive role.

“Transatlantic leaders called for an end to the violence and for redoubled efforts to settle the underlying political conflict but did little else. Russian President Vladimir Putin, by contrast, launched decisive actions to shore up Russia’s international reputation and pull Armenia and Azerbaijan away from the West,” he writes.

The former ambassador also notes being struck by the lack of cooperation on Nagorno-Karabakh between Washington and Moscow in recent days.

According to Bryza, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan had little interest in these unprecedented military clashes. In fact, he notes that many Azerbaijanis and Armenians doubt the unprecedented clashes were provoked by outside forces.

“In any case, Putin is exploiting the situation through intensive diplomacy that Obama shows no interest in matching. The White House has failed even to issue an official statement. Meanwhile, the State Department’s reaction has been muted, consisting of a news statement by Secretary of State John Kerry that does not reflect the unprecedented nature of current circumstances, plus Kerry’s routine phone discussions with Lavrov. Putin, by contrast, has consulted repeatedly with Aliyev and Sarkisian, while Russia’s foreign and defense ministers are actively engaging their counterparts in Yerevan and Baku,” the author writes.

According to Matthew Bryza, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are left with the impression that “Russia alone calls the shots in the South Caucasus”.
“As Putin pulls Azerbaijan and Armenia away from the West in these ways, he is laying the foundation for future crises, while Washington watches,” Bryza concluded.