• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Thomas de Waal",
    "Fiona Hill",
    "Wayne Merry"
  ],
  "type": "commentary",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie Europe"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
  "programAffiliation": "russia",
  "programs": [
    "Russia and Eurasia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Caucasus",
    "Russia",
    "Azerbaijan",
    "Armenia",
    "Georgia"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE

REQUIRED IMAGE

Commentary
Carnegie Europe

Conflicts in the Caucasus: Prospects for Resolution

Twenty years after the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the unresolved conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia remain one of its most problematic legacies.

Link Copied
By Thomas de Waal, Fiona Hill, Wayne Merry
Published on Dec 7, 2011
Program mobile hero image

Program

Russia and Eurasia

The Russia and Eurasia Program continues Carnegie’s long tradition of independent research on major political, societal, and security trends in and U.S. policy toward a region that has been upended by Russia’s war against Ukraine.  Leaders regularly turn to our work for clear-eyed, relevant analyses on the region to inform their policy decisions.

Learn More

Twenty years after the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the unresolved conflicts in the Caucasus remain one of its most problematic legacies. Despite the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) long mediation in the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, the results have been disappointing. After the 2008 Russia-Georgia war and Moscow’s subsequent recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the prospects for settling those conflicts seem more remote than ever.

Hosted by the Helsinki Commission, this briefing examined where these conflicts stand today; what factors impede a settlement; whether the resumption of armed hostilities is a serious threat; whether changes in the negotiating format might yield a better outcome; and what, if anything, could the United States do to facilitate a resolution.

About the Authors

Thomas de Waal

Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe

Thomas de Waal is a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.

Fiona Hill

Fiona Hill

Fiona Hill is a senior fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe within the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. She is the Chancellor of Durham University in the United Kingdom and is a member of the Harvard University Board of Overseers.

Wayne Merry

Authors

Thomas de Waal
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe
Thomas de Waal
Fiona Hill

Fiona Hill is a senior fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe within the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. She is the Chancellor of Durham University in the United Kingdom and is a member of the Harvard University Board of Overseers.

Fiona Hill
Wayne Merry
Foreign PolicyCaucasusRussiaAzerbaijanArmeniaGeorgia

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Shadowed figure lighting grocery store shelves
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Five Years After His Power Grab, Tunisia’s President Has Only Achieved Failure

    Saied’s main accomplishment has been to destroy a decade’s worth of democratic progress.

      • Sarah Yerkes

      Sarah Yerkes

  • Port cranes at sunset
    Commentary
    Emissary
    The Drone Attack on Egypt and the Widening Middle East War

    The targeting of Damietta Port appears to be more than a mere security message.

      Amr Hamzawy

  • Commentary
    "I Don’t Think Trump Wants to Pull America Out of NATO"

    Does Donald Trump want to redraw the map of the world? Historian and geopolitical thinker Stephen Wertheim tries to parse the logic behind current American foreign policy

      Stephen Wertheim

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Letter from the Editor: Europe Takes Two Steps Forward But One Step Back

    As we close out another season of Strategic Europe, it is worth taking stock of the deep shifts underway.

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz

  • Photo of refugee tents in Gaza housing displaced Palestinians.
    Article
    The Board of Peace Plan for Gaza

    The Trump-led board has laid out blueprints for “voluntary emigration” and land confiscation.

      • Zaha Hassan

      Zaha Hassan

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.