YEREVAN, Armenia — Armenians vote for a new president today amid growing unease that Kosovo’s declaration of independence could increase secessionist pressure in breakaway territories in the Caucasus and other former Soviet regions.
The election could determine how far Armenia is willing to go to avoid renewed conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The struggle over that region is one of several so-called “frozen conflicts” — which also include the Trans-Dniester region of Moldova and Georgia’s South Ossetia and Abkhazia territories — that could heat up after Kosovo’s parliament declared independence from Serbia on Sunday.
The Armenian regime says Nagorno-Karabakh should be recognized as a sovereign state, while Azerbaijan says it will never cede its territory.
Of the two leading Armenian candidates, one appears inflexible on the issue, while the other appears willing to reach a compromise. The election pits Armenia’s powerful prime minister, Serge Sarkisian, against former President Levon Ter-Petrosian.
