Armenia and Azerbaijan fight over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region

Armenia and Azerbaijan fight over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region

Published BY : Shivam Gupta

At the heart of the conflict is a dispute over control of the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but has been controlled by ethnic Armenians since a war ended in 1994.Tens of thousands of people died during that war and a million others were forced to leave their homes.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, which are de facto controlled by the self-declared Republic of Artsakh, but are internationally recognized as de jure part of Azerbaijan. The conflict has its origins in the early 20th century. Under the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin decided to make the Nagorno-Karabakh region an autonomous oblast of Soviet Azerbaijan.The present conflict began in 1988, when the Karabakh Armenians demanded that Karabakh be transferred from Soviet Azerbaijan to Soviet Armenia. The conflict escalated into a full-scale war in the early 1990s.

A ceasefire signed in 1994 provided for two decades of relative stability, which significantly deteriorated along with Azerbaijan's increasing frustration with the status quo, at odds with Armenia's efforts to cement it.A four-day escalation in April 2016 became the deadliest ceasefire violation to date.

History of Dispute:

  • 1920: Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was established within Azerbaijan by the then Soviet Union.
  • 1988: Nagorno-Karabakh legislature passed a resolution to join Armenia despite the region's legal location within Azerbaijan’s borders.
  • 1991 : The autonomous region officially declared that it would not join either of the countries after a referendum which was boycotted by Azerbaijan. War erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region, leaving roughly tens of thousands of casualties and hundreds of thousands of refugees.
  • 1994: Russia mediated a cease-fire which has remained in place since.
  • 2016: In April 2016, the region was particularly tense because of violent fighting between the two countries, which was known as the Four Day War.

Apart from this, intermittent ceasefire violations between Azerbaijan and Armenian troops have caused hundreds of deaths in the past decade.

Foreign involvement

Russia: Thomas de Waal has argued that there is an Azerbaijani narrative that Russia has "consistently supported the Armenian side." According to de Waal, Russia "has more supported the Armenian side," but there have been various "different Russian actors at different times supporting both sides in this conflict." He argues that President Boris Yeltsin did not "want to see the Armenian side be defeated, but he also didn't want to supply them with too many weapons." De Waal concluded in 2012 was that "Russia [is] playing both sides", but "ultimately more in the Armenian side."

Turkey: Turkey is widely considered Azerbaijan's main supporter in the conflict.Svante Cornell wrote in 1998 that Turkey is the "only country that constantly expressed its support for Azerbaijan."It provided Azerbaijan "active military help" during the war.Turkey also supports Azerbaijan diplomatically. Turkish and Azerbaijani armed forces cooperate extensively and regularly hold military exercises.Azerbaijan has also bought weapons from Turkey.

Iran: Iran is officially neutral and has sought to play the role of a mediator, most notably in 1992. In its official statements, Iran calls for a peaceful settlement and restraint during skirmishes.At the same time, Iranian officials have repeatedly reaffirmed their support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

United states of America: Thomas Ambrosio suggested in 2000 that the US "supported Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, but enacted policies that effectively supported Armenia's irredentist policies."Sergo Mikoyan argued in 1998 that the US response to the conflict has been "inconsistent, pulled in different directions by the legislative and executive branches of power." Congress was under the influence of the Armenian lobby, while the executive branch (the White House and the State Department) pursued a pro-Azerbaijani policy, which "reflects Turkish influence and the interests of oil companies."Richard C. Longworth and Argam DerHartunian expressed similar views.

India-Azerbaijan: India is part of the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multimodal network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.

  • Azerbaijan is a dialogue partner of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which India is a member of.
  • In 2018, the then Indian External affairs minister had visited Baku (Azerbaijan), the first-ever bilateral visit of an Indian External Affairs Minister to Azerbaijan.
  • India’s ONGC-Videsh is an investor in Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) oil fields and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
  • However, Azerbaijan supports Pakistan’s position on the Kashmir issue.

Effect on India

  • India- Armenia: In recent years, Indian-Armenian bilateral cooperation has seen rapid growth.
  • The then Vice-President of India visited Yerevan (Armenia) in 2017.
  • Armenia bought the India SWATHI military radar system in March 2020.
  • Many Indian students study in Armenian medical Universities and in recent years Armenia has witnessed an increasing flow of Indian labour migrants.
  • For Armenia, close relations with India are vitally important as India provides a counter balance to the rival strategic axis between Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkey.

Pakistan: India has supported Armenia while Azerbaijan has been supported by Pakistan. Pakistan was the second country to recognize Azerbaijan’s independence after Turkey. Also, Pakistan is the only country that does not recognize Armenia as an independent state and fully supports Azerbaijan’s position.

China: China has grown increasingly active in the caucasian region, conducting a number of programs and signing economic, political and military agreements with Armenia. Armenia has also agreed to participate in the Chinese Belt and Road project.

However, China is an ally of its rival Azerbaijan and Armenia is also aware of its support to Pakistan. China-Turkey’s influence in the south caucasus region is a source of concern for India. It is important for it to strengthen its ties with both the countries in line continuing its non-aligned stance, and call for peace in the region.

Way Forward
The conflict between the two countries has reached alarming levels and the international mediators should intervene immediately and push sides for substantive negotiations to prevent any further escalations.

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