Downfall of American policy in the South Caucasus

Washington is trying to get things moving with its two strategic partners in the South Caucasus - Turkey and Azerbaijan.
The policy conducted by US President Barack Obama's administration in the South Caucasus has failed. US efforts in patching up relations between Yerevan and Ankara without linking this to Nagorno-Karabakh  and the "genocide" question have been in vain. The process of
normalization of relations which started triumphantly with the "football diplomacy" and the signing of rapprochement protocols in Zurich did not go forward, in spite of US encouragement.

The sides did not manage to come to an agreement on the terms of ratification of the documents and the very form of protocols. They made changes, put forward pre-conditions and added new paragraphs into
the already signed document. Moreover, the sides themselves have done their best to block the project. Turkish officials always drew parallels between Armenian and Turkish rapprochement and the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, stating that a simultaneous solution of both problems was the only option. The Armenian side insisted on recognizing the events of 1915 in Ottoman Empire as genocide. The US Congress added fuel to the fire with its genocide resolution, after which Turkey recalled its ambassador from the US.

The result of blocking the ratification was that the governing coalition in Armenia moved this question away from the business of the day. Thus, the process of normalization lobbied by the US collapsed.
Washington has also badly damaged its relations with Turkey by insisting that Nagorno-Karabakh had nothing to do with the historical conflict between Armenia and Turkey. The fact that the president of Azerbaijan was not invited to the Nuclear Security Summit in
Washington did nothing to improve relations. The Turkish authorities, as a protest at the absence of Ilham Aliyev at the summit, supported Baku in one more issue: it expressed its dissatisfaction with the work of OBCE Minsk Group.

The resoluteness of Turkey in the issue of linking the opening of borders with the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict illustrates the role energy issues play here and their influence on Ankara.
However, Turkey retreated, having decided that relations with Azerbaijan were worth the dissatisfaction of Washington.

This change of position proves that Turkey is now going to create a new geopolitical axis including Russia and Azerbaijan and that it wants to be a strong player in the South Caucasus.
The fact that Turkey and Azerbaijan agreed before April 24, the Memorial Day for the 1915 massacre, witnesses the beginning of a new political game. In the meantime, Obama again declined to call these events "genocide." It's quite possible that Washington will try to
bridge a gulf with Turkey and Azerbaijan. The US will acknowledge its defeat in normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey and it will try to get back the confidence of Baku and Ankara. Yet, it is doubtful if its efforts will be successful as both countries are more oriented towards Russia than towards the West due to the Kremlin's efforts in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Moscow's reserved position in the question of the  settlement of the conflict between Armenia and Turkey.