NAGORNO-KARABAKH - INTERNATIONAL
News: What
is Nagorno-Karabakh and why are tensions rising?
What's in the news?
● Azerbaijan
established a checkpoint at the start of the Lachin corridor, the only land
route linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, a step that was followed by claims
of border shootings by both Azeri and Armenian forces.
What is Nagorno-Karabakh?
● Nagorno-Karabakh,
known as Artsakh by Armenians, is a landlocked mountainous area in the South
Caucasus.
● It
was claimed by both Azerbaijan and
Armenia after the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 and has remained a
point of tension ever since.
Legal Status:
● The
territory is internationally recognized
as part of oil-rich Azerbaijan, but its inhabitants are predominantly
ethnic Armenians and have their own government which has enjoyed close links to
the government in neighbouring Armenia but has not been officially recognized
by it or other U.N. member states.
Religious Connotation:
● Armenians,
who are Christians, claim a long
historical dominance in the area, dating back to several centuries before
Christ.
● Azerbaijan,
whose inhabitants are mostly Muslim,
links its historical identity to the territory too.
● Azerbaijan
accuses the Armenians of driving out Azeris who lived nearby in the 1990s. It
wants to gain full control over the enclave, suggesting ethnic Armenians take
Azeri passports or leave.
Other Important Takeaways:
First Karabakh War:
● As
the Soviet Union crumbled, what is known as the First Karabakh War erupted (1988-1994) between Armenians and their
Azeri neighbours. About 30,000 people were killed and more than a million
people displaced.
● Azerbaijan lost a chunk
of its territory with Armenians left in control of
most of Karabakh, alongside extra territory around Karabakh’s perimeter.
Azerbaijan vowed to take back control over the territory.
44-day war in 2020:
● In
2020, after decades of skirmishes, Azerbaijan began a military operation which
became the Second Karabakh War swiftly breaking through Armenian defences.
● Azerbaijan, backed by
Turkey, won a resounding victory in the 44-day war, taking back parts of
Karabakh.
● The
use of drones bought from Turkey and Israel was cited by military analysts as
one of the main reasons for Azerbaijan’s victory. Several thousand people were
killed.
Russia's Entry and the Ceasefire Deal:
● Russia,
a treaty ally of Armenia which also has good relations with Azerbaijan, stepped
in to negotiate a ceasefire.
● Under
the deal, Azerbaijan was handed all of the territories surrounding Karabakh.
● This
left ethnic Armenians in Karabakh with a much smaller territory. Armenia cast
the war’s outcome as a disaster and unrest broke out in Yerevan.
● The
deal provided for Russian peacekeepers to deploy to Karabakh to guard the only
road left linking the enclave with Armenia – the so-called Lachin corridor and construction of a new route along the corridor.
● Azerbaijan
pledged to guarantee the safety of traffic along the corridor in both
directions.
What is happening now in Nagorno-Karabakh?
● Azerbaijani
troops set up a new checkpoint, near the Armenian border at the beginning of
the Lachin corridor, in what Armenia has said is an explicit violation of the
November 2020 truce.
● Azerbaijan
said the move, which threatens to cut Karabakh off entirely, was aimed at
ending Armenian arms supplies to what it calls a separatist administration.
● The
United States said it was deeply concerned by the move and called for free and
open movement along the corridor.