Over the last one week, military action in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region disputed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, has resulted in the death of at least 100 civilians and Armenian combatants. While the two countries have fought over the region for decades, the current conflict is being seen as one of the most serious in recent years. Azerbaijan has not released information on its casualties.

1. Azerbaijan vs Armenia: An old regional conflict, interested
neighbours
(Resource : Indian Express 06 Oct 2020)
Over the last one week, military action in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region
disputed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, has resulted in the death of at
least 100 civilians and Armenian combatants. While the two countries have
fought over the region for decades, the current conflict is being seen as one of
the most serious in recent years. Azerbaijan has not released information on
its casualties.
What is Nagorno-Karabakh?
Straddling western Asia and Eastern Europe, Nagorno-Karabakh is
internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but most of the region is
controlled by Armenian separatists. Nagorno-Karabakh has been part of
Azerbaijan territory since the Soviet era. When the Soviet Union began to
collapse in the late 1980s, Armenia’s regional parliament voted for the
region’s transfer to Armenia; the Soviet authorities turned down the demand.
Years of clashes followed between Azerbaijan forces and Armenian
separatists. The violence lasted into the 1990s, leaving tens and thousands
dead and displacing hundreds of thousands. In 1994, Russia brokered a
ceasefire, by which time ethnic Armenians had taken control of the region.
While the area remains in Azerbaijan, it is today governed by separatist
Armenians who have declared it a republic called the “Nagorno-Karabakh
Autonomous Oblast”. While the Armenian government does not recognise
Nagorno-Karabakh as independent, it supports the region politically and
militarily.
Even after the 1994 peace deal, the region has been marked by regular
exchanges of fire. In 2016, it saw a Four-Day War before Russia mediated
peace. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
Minsk Group, chaired by France, Russia and the US, has tried to get the two
countries to reach a peace agreement for several years.
What is the fresh conflict about?
It began on the morning of September 27, since when each country has
claimed to have inflicted serious loss on its opponent. What’s different about

2. the current flare-up is that this is the first time that both countries have
proclaimed martial law.
According to the Warsaw-based Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW), the
current escalation was “most likely” initiated by Azerbaijan. Media reports
have noted that the clashes were possibly a fallout of Azerbaijan’s bid to
reclaim some territories occupied by separatist Armenians
The chairman of Azerbaijan’s National Council has said in a statement that
the “military operation of the Azerbaijani army continues to clear the
territories occupied by the enemy for almost 30 years”. He said September 27
was a “day of exhaustion” and alleged Armenia has occupied regions around
Nagorono-Karabakh with the “direct support” of Russia to create a “security
zone”.
What are the stakes for Russia, and other countries?
The conflict is getting worldwide attention because of the involvement of
regional rivals Turkey and Russia. Muslim-majority Turkey backs Azerbaijan,
and recently condemned Christian-majority Armenia for not resolving the
issue through peaceful negotiations. Turkey recently declared unconditional
support to Muslim-majority Azerbaijan.
Russia and Turkey also back opposite sides in the civil wars playing out in
Syria and Libya and Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan may be seen as an
attempt to counter Russia’s influence in the region of South Caucasus.
Russia’s role is somewhat opaque since it supplies arms to both countries and
is in a military alliance with Armenia called the Collective Security Treaty
Organisation. In a statement released on Monday, Dmitry Peskov, the Press
Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, said Russia “has always
taken a balanced position” on the matter and has “traditionally good relations”
with both countries. He added that Russia is in contact with Turkey regarding
the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Other countries, including the US, have limited their participation to appeals
for maintaining peace so far. For all countries, the region is an important
transit route for the supply of oil and natural gas to the European Union.

3. What next?
As of now, both sides are standing their ground. The Russian state news
agency TASS quoted Azerbaijan President Ikhlam Aliyev as saying that for
the fighting to stop, Armenia must unconditionally leave Nagorno-Karabakh.
On Monday, the Armenian government lodged a request with the European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for an interim measure (applicable only when
there is imminent risk of irreparable harm) against Azerbaijan. It requested the
court to indicate to the Azerbaijani government to “cease the military attacks
towards the civilian settlements along the entire line of contact of the armed
forces of Armenia and Artsakh”.