This document provides background information on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It discusses the history of the region and how it has alternated between Armenian and Azerbaijani control over centuries. It also describes key events in the conflict, including violence in Sumgait and Baku in 1988, the Khojaly massacre in 1992 that killed over 600 civilians, and the ceasefire in 1994. The ongoing dispute over the region's status and Armenia's occupation of surrounding Azerbaijani territory is noted.

1. Photo by www.xocali.net

2. All the information included to the presentation are based on the facts and research results of third parties Relevant references could be found at the end of each page. By ElchinIbrahimov

3. http://theyounggeorgians.wordpress.com/about/ http://mfa.gov.az/

4. Armenia Capital: Yerevan Independence from the Soviet Union Declared: 23 August 1990 Total area: 29,743 km2 Population: 3,262,000

5. Azerbaijan Capital: Baku Independence from the Soviet Union Declared: 30 August 1991 Total area: 86,600 km2 Population: 9,000,000

6. Nagorno-Karabakh The word Nagorno is derived from the Russian adjective nagorny (нагорный), which means "highland". The word Karabakh is generally held to originate from Turkic and Persian, and literally means "black garden“. Total area : 4,400 km2 Population (1989): 190.000 Armenians: 77 % Azerbaijani: 21.5% Russian: 1 % Other nationalities: 0.5% Nagorno-Karabakh

7. Currently….. Nagorno-Karabakh Republic governs the region, an unrecognized, de facto independent state established on the basis of the Azerbaijan territory. The territory is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, although it has not exercised power over most of the region since 1991. Since the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994, representatives of the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group on the region's status. Let’s go back to the history of Nagorno-Karabakh.

8. Of course both sides claim that historically NK was part of their country: Armenian orientated sources assume that Nagorno-Karabakh was part of the early Armenia as the province of Arzakh. In contrast, Azerbaijani sources place the province of Arzakhwithin the former Caucasian Albania. The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis By HeikoKrüger

9. “Right up until the late Middle Ages Karabakh is said to have been home to the Caucasian Albanians.” “Until this time the territory could not be clearly classified ethnically as belonging to either the Armenian or the Azerbaijani cultural area.” The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis By HeikoKrüger

10. “Karabakh, like Erivan, was considered to be a territory dominated by the Azerbaijanis from the 16th to the 19th centuries” “Not even the territory of modern Armenia could be regarded as being under Armenian rule at that time.” “In the middle of the 18th century the Karabakh khanate was established under the Azerbaijani Panah-Ali khan Javanshir.” The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis By HeikoKrüger

11. “Most of the region could meanwhile be regarded as being settled by Azerbaijani tribes, such as the Otuziki, Javanshirand Kebirli. Although a proportion of Karabakh’s population was Christian-Albanian and Armenian, most of its population at this time was Muslim. Research in recent decades has shown that 80% of the population in the southern Caucasus region was Muslim and 20% Armenian. The Armenian population in Karabakh was still only 8.4% of the total in 1823.” The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis By HeikoKrüger

14. Then how it comes that the population of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1989 was mostly 77% Armenians??....

16. Russia 1850s Ottoman Iran

17. 1917- Russian revolution Transcaucasia Soviet union

18. …..it was ultimately decided that Nagorno-Karabakh should remain in the Azerbaijan Soviet Republic and be granted autonomous status (1923). This was the final and binding ruling which was repeatedly affirmed by the Soviet leadership over the following years. Until 1991 Soviet Union collapsed it was relatively peacefully, except in 1960s when the workers and peasants of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian SSR presented various petitions to change the territorial affiliation of Karabakh, but this was rejected by official Moscow.

19. Russia Georgia Turkey 1948 1988 Iran 400.000 Azerbaijani were forced out from Armenia 100.000 Armenians left Baku and other cities in 1988

20. 1988 beginning – tensions and nationalistic anti-Azerbaijani mood increased in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. 24 Febrauary, 1988 - Then two young Azerbaijanis had been killed in an administrative district bordering Nagorno-Karabakh (Asgaran during demostration against the annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh Oblast into Armenia SSR). 27 February, 1988 - This led to violent attacks by Azerbaijanis on Armenians in Sumgait in front of police and Soviet troops where 26 Armenians and 6 Azerbaijani were killed.

21. Sumgait and Baku events were actually planned by Russian Intelligent agencies as later USSR KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov admitted. The KGB obviously organised acts of provocation within local conflicts across the Soviet Union to weaken the Gorbachev Administration. The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis By HeikoKrüger

22. Anti-constitutionaldecision 1988 July 12 - TheSession of People'sDeputies of the Regional Soviet in NKAR adoptedan anti-constitutionaldecisiononseparationfromtheAzerbaijani SSR. Under Article 78 of the USSR Constitution, the territory of a Union republic could not be altered without its consent. The borders between Union republics could be altered by mutual agreement of the republics concerned, subject to approval by the USSR.

23. As a result of military aggression of Armenian armed forces, 20% of Azerbaijani lands, that is in 1988-1992, 4400 sq km territory of Nagorno-Karabakh (Shusha, Khankandi, Khojali, Asgaran, Khojavand, Agdara, Hadrut) and 7 adjacent regions Region occupation date Territory Lachinregion: May 18, 1992, 1875 sq km.,Kelbajar region: April 2, 1993, 1936 sq km.,Agdamregion: July 23, 1993, 1154 sq km., Jabrail region: August 23, 1993, 1050 sq km.,Fizuliregion: August 23, 1993, 1112 sq km.,Gubadliregion: August 31, 1993, 826 sq km.,Zangilanregion: October 30, 1993, 707 sq km., 1 million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced persons. 30.000 were killed, 5.000 Armenian and 25.000 Azerbaijani…… Overall damage to Azerbaijan side was 6 bln US dollars.

24. In this period the most tragical event of XX century happened. Khojaly Massacre

25. Khojaly was Azerbaijan settlement situated in NagornoKarabakh region Population 7.000 people Khojaly

26. At night from 25 to 26 February 1992 The Armenian armed forces supported by the ex-Soviet 366th regiment attacked the city. After all 150 people defending the town were killed the remaining handful of the town’s defendants provided a humanitarian corridor for several hundreds of the town’s residents to escape their homes. Several thousands of fleeing civilians were ambushed at several points and being shelled by bullet rain. However advances punitive teams of so called NK defense army after eliminating handful of policemen accompanying the refugees column reached out unprotected civilians to slaughter some, finish off others, having some bodies mutilated and scalped as the notorious karabakh war trophies.

27. In a few hours of night 613 civilians were killed including 106 women, 83 children. 56 people were killed with outrageous brutality, 8 families were totally exterminated, 25 children lost both parents while 30 children lost at least one parent Massacre which has become the most brutal punishment of civilians during the whole 3 years of the conflict’s military phase.

30. Cease-Fire, 1994 Russia brokered a cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1994 The cease-fire has not been successful, as the goals of both sides have not been met Armenia occupies 20% of Azeri territory, including territory outside of Karabakh; still demands independence for Karabakh Azerbaijan demands its right to self-determination, the end of the occupation and the return of Karabakh to Azerbaijan www.azer.com “The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict” by Jacob Dougherty, University of Wisconsin

33. Azerbaijan possess 800 000 IDPs/refugees expelled from NagornoKarabakh, Armenia and 7 occupied regions beyond NK

34. Armenia possess 300 000 refugees from Azerbaijan

36. ’Power mediation’’ and ‘’track sharing’’ approaches 1996 December 2-3 - OSCE Lisbon Summit. The OSCE statementsupportedbyall (53) OSCE memberstatesexcept Armenia, onthreeprinciplesforthesettlement of theconflict: territorial integrity of theRepublic of Armenia and theAzerbaijanRepublic; legal status of Nagorno-Karabakhdefined in anagreementbasedonself-determinationwhichconferson Nagorno-Karabakhthehighestdegree of self-rule withinAzerbaijan; guaranteedsecurityfor Nagorno-Karabakh and itswholepopulation, including mutual obligationstoensurecompliancebyallthepartieswiththeprovisions of thesettlement;