Trump should encourage Aliyev to release 19 Armenian prisoners as a  humanitarian act - The Washington Times

ArmInfo.President Donald Trump should encourage Azeri President Ilham Aliyev to release the 19 Armenian prisoners as a humanitarian act and a demonstration of Baku's commitment to reconciliation. This is what columnist Darren Spink, managing director of the Janus Forum, writes in his article in  The Washington Times.

According to him, The recent parliamentary election victory of  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gives new momentum to the  U.S.-backed peace process with Azerbaijan.. The result builds on  President Trump's breakthrough at the White House last August, when  he brought Armenia and Azernaijan together and helped turn years of  stalled diplomacy into a framework to preserve peace and open  regional trade.

The columnist noted that at the center is the  Tripp framework, which  will connect  Azernaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenian  territory and make Armenia a gateway between the Caspian and Europe.  For Armenia, it will transform the country's landlocked position into  an economic asset by attracting investment and reducing transport  costs. It will also help preserve peace by giving Armenia's neighbors  a practical stake in routes that remain under Armenian sovereignty  and jurisdiction. TRIPP will strengthen America's role in a  strategically important region without requiring troops or open-ended  aid. It will also create commercial opportunities for U.S. companies  as new transport links are built across the South Caucasus. These  gains are substantial and merit support.

However, as Darren Spink believes,  settlement cannot rest on maps  and trade routes alone. One of the most urgent tests of Mr. Trump's  Caucasus deal is whether it can secure the return of the 19 Armenian  prisoners still held in Azerbaijan in connection with the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Releasing them would show that the  agreement values people as well as trade.  For many Armenians, the   prisoners still held in Azerbaijan remain the clearest sign that the   war has not fully ended. Pashinyan has asked his country to pursue  reconciliation with Azerbaijan while moving closer to the U.S. and  Europe. That has required political courage.

  "Since the Washington framework was agreed to last year, Baku has  agreed to border delimitation, renounced future territorial claims  against Armenia and agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with  Yerevan once the peace agreement enters into force. But releasing the  19 prisoners would also encourage Armenian support for the agreement,  both domestically and worldwide, while showing that the new South  Caucasus framework is grounded in human dignity as well as economic  opportunity.  Nagorno-Karabakh, a region within Azerbaijan's  internationally recognized borders that was majority Armenian, was at  the center of wars between Armenia and Azerbaijan after the Soviet  Union collapsed. In 2023,  Azerbaijan regained control of the region  after a military offensive   and nearly the entire ethnic Armenian  population fled.

Azerbaijani authorities took former Nagorno-Karabakh leaders and  other Armenians into custody. Some have received long prison  sentences after trials criticized by human rights groups. Azerbaijan   says those held committed serious crimes; Armenia regards them as  political prisoners whose continued detention casts a shadow over any  peace agreement.  Mr. Trump need not revisit every dispute over  Nagorno-Karabakh to address the prisoner issue. He can support the  peace framework while pressing for their release. No agreement will  feel complete to Armenians while families are still waiting for  prisoners to return.  As the midterm elections approach, America's  Armenian community, estimated at more than 1 million, is watching  closely to see whether Washington has listened to a concern they have   voiced for years.  America's allies and European partners, including   Canada and France, have also raised the issue and demanded the  release of prisoners. Senior European lawmakers have said a release  would be a goodwill gesture in support of lasting peace.  Mr. Trump  has invested his prestige in this peace process, giving him leverage.  He should encourage Azeri President Ilham Aliyev to release the 19  Armenian prisoners as a humanitarian act and a demonstration of  Baku's commitment to reconciliation.

TRIPP can provide new commercial routes for the South Caucasus, while  the prisoners' release can give the agreement a human foundation. If  President Trump can help achieve both, he will strengthen the lasting  impact of his Caucasus deal," the article states.