n What is the historical background of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict?
The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is rooted in a dispute over sovereignty in NagornyKarabakh, a mountainous area of some 4,400 square kilometres. In 1987 Nagorny Karabakh’s Armenian population began a campaign to separate from Azerbaijan and unify with Armenia. The dispute was still unresolved by the time of the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, and a two-year war in the early 1990s ended in a decisive Armenian military victory.
By the time of the ceasefire in May 1994, more than 25,000 people had lost their lives, and more than a million were forcibly displaced from their homes. Almost all of the territory of NagornyKarabakh had broken away from Azerbaijani control. A new entity was established, the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which has not been officially recognised by any state, including Armenia, to this day.
n What are the main issues at stake in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict?
Azerbaijan planning a long-term presence in Armenia,The recent large-scale cross-border attacks inside Armenia by Azerbaijan, with reports estimating at least 286 people killed from both sides and hundreds more wounded, highlights the wider picture of a collapsing Russian-led security order in Eurasia.
Coming on 12 September, the attacks coincided with Ukraine’s successful counter-offensive in Kharkiv and fresh fighting between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Several key actors in Eurasia now see Azerbaijan as a critical – or at least important – partner in solving new problems flowing from the war in Ukraine. For the Kremlin, Azerbaijan is a pivotal link for a more isolated Russia seeking new routes to Iran and Asia.
n What are the key events or incidents that have occurred during the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict?
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict[f]is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaijanis until their expulsion during the 1990s during a period of Armenian occupation. The Nagorno-Karabakh region is entirely claimed by and partially de facto controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh.