One of the deepest, longest, and most severe problems in the Eurasian region is the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. This conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has been ongoing since 1988, with occasional mediation efforts of Turkey and Russia. It is now in the process of moving towards peace with a recently signed treaty. However, this peace process still contains some problems. Both the relationship between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the attitude of mediators deeply affect this process. Tensions are still high as the last few months have been violent. The latest conflict broke out on 27 September. Armenia said Azerbaijan fired the first shots but each side blames the other for initiating the conflict.
A Brief History of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the ethnic conflict and territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Armenian-controlled Azerbaijani territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh and Nagorno-Karabakh sometimes called The Republic of Artsakh. The Republic is technically independent, but it is not recognized by any country, including Armenia. The origin of the conflict emerged in the early 20th century.
During the Soviet period, Joseph Stalin decided to make the Nagorno-Karabakh region an autonomous oblast in Soviet Azerbaijan, which was historically part of Armenia and had an Armenian population. The current conflict started in 1988 when the Armenians of Karabakh demanded the transfer of Karabakh from Soviet Azerbaijan to Soviet Armenia. The conflict turned into a large-scale war in the early 1990s. A ceasefire signed in 1994 not only increased Baku's troubles with the status quo, but also provided two decades of relative stability that contradicted Yerevan's consolidation efforts. A four-day tension in April 2016 was the most violent conflict ever since the ceasefire. Since then, the danger of continuing widespread hostility has greatly increased.
Peace-Making Process and Diplomacy
In July 2020, a conflict broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the border area, about 300 km (185 miles) from Nagorno-Karabakh. The most recent conflict occurred on September 27, 2020. The two countries accused each other as the first to initiate the conflict. In response to the clashes, Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic declared martial law and total mobilization, while Azerbaijan declared a curfew and a state of war along the border line after the partial martial law declared on 28 September. Both sides reported military and civilian deaths.
After Azerbaijan seized Shusha, 15 kilometers from the de facto capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a peace agreement was signed via Russia on November 10, 2020. Azerbaijan agreed to end the conflict but demanded that; Armenia agreed to withdraw from the territory Azerbaijan acquired during the course of the war, establishing a link between the city of Nakhchivan and Azerbaijan via Armenia. In line with the request of the Armenian side, details about the timing and width of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic-Armenia corridor in Lachin were determined; The contact route between Nakhchivan and Azerbaijan was not elaborated on some issues.
The displaced and the refugees were decided to return to their regions through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that an observation center will be established in Karabakh with the Turkish-Russian partnership and that the ceasefire violations will be checked by drones at this center. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said of the issue that, "Turkey, the joint peacekeeping forces in the region will be established to oversee and monitor the implementation of the agreement will take place together with Russia," Lavrov, on the other hand, stated in the articles of the agreement signed on 10 November 2020 that Turkish soldiers will not come to Karabakh and that Turkish soldiers will stay in a limited area in Azerbaijani territories far from Karabakh.
After the signing of the agreement, the Armenian people, who saw the agreement as a "defeat", reacted it. The protesters tried to enter the parliament building in the protests targeted by the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Pashinyan, on the other hand, said in a statement he made on Facebook that Armenia was returning from a "worse result". Pashinyan stated that the decision taken was "painful" for the Armenian people and that this decision was made due to the insistence of the Armenian army on the ground.
Bibliography
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“Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia Sign Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Deal.” BBC News, 10 Nov. 2020, www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54882564.
“Ethnic Armenian Villagers Burn Houses before Azerbaijan Takeover.” Al Jazeera, 14 Nov. 2020, www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/14/villagers-burn-karabakh-houses-ahead-of-azerbaijan-takeover
Garrison, Miguel. “Russia & Turkey Disagree on How to Solve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict, with Ankara Preferring a Military Solution, Says Kremlin.” NY Pilot News, 31 Dec. 2020, www.nypilot.com/russia-turkey-disagree-on-how-to-solve-the-armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-with-ankara-preferring-a-military-solution-says-kremlin/
Kramer, Andrew E. “Armenia and Azerbaijan: The Conflict Explained.” The New York Times, 3 Oct. 2020, www.nytimes.com/article/armenian-azerbaijan-conflict.html.
Weise, Zia, et al. The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict Explained. POLITICO, 2 Oct. 2020, www.politico.eu/article/the-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-explained-armenia-azerbaijan
