TURKEY – NATO'S AMBASSADOR IN NAGORNO KARABAKH?

N. Mamishova

Abstract



It was in full swing of the 2020 newly-blown Nagorno Karabakh war when during an online press conference following the
meetings of NATO Defense Ministers its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg openly denoted Turkey as the one expected to "use
its considerable influence in the region to calm tensions". Amid Armenia's accusations of Ankara allegedly playing a negative
role in the conflict, this was a living testament of Turkey being a "valued Ally" of NATO. Pushing a political solution to the
conflict, in which NATO was though not part in and around, the Alliance apparently sought to "level the playing field" within the
Minsk Process, whose activity was never effective. The peace efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by Russia and two
powerful NATO allies – France and the United States, proved to be obsolete and unhelpful in the long-standing territorial dispute
between Yerevan and Baku. Somehow, inserting Turkey into this configuration of powers consequently managed to bring some
stability to the region. This study aims at investigating how comes that Russia "sanctioned" having Turkey, another NATO
member, as a "certified" player on the field and that Armenia-favoring France let engage the country which has even no
diplomatic relations with Yerevan. It concludes consequently that self-positioning of Turkey as a non-conventional NATO ally
pursuing an autonomous foreign and security policy has been a critical factor.
Keywords: Nagorno Karabakh, Turkey, NATO, OSCE Minsk Group, Russia.


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