Armenia-Azerbaijan War

By 0 Comments Newsroom, Security in Asia

In September, tensions erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan over a historically disputed piece of land called Nagorno-Karabakh. While Christian-majority Armenia controls Nagorno-Karabakh, is internationally recognized as part of Muslim-majority Azerbaijan. In the early 20th century, the Soviets set Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. Its ethnic makeup is 95 percent Armenian, setting up the land to be a fixture for future tensions.

Once the Soviet Union began to disintegrate, conflict ensued between both sides. By 1991 Nagorno-Karabakh declared its independence leading to an all-out war. Armenia eventually drove out the Azerbaijani forces from Nagorno-Karabakh, causing hundreds of thousands to leave their homes. Eventually, a ceasefire was agreed upon, but both countries continued to harbor animosity toward each other over the land.

In late September 2020, fighting began along the border, with both sides blaming the other for the provocation. However, the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan has larger regional and world implications. Turkey, a NATO member, backs Azerbaijan. The two countries share a strong relationship culturally and a shared animosity towards Armenia. Turkey has historically refused to acknowledge the Armenian genocide and the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

Russia, meanwhile, has economic relationships with both countries but is backing Armenia due to closer relations. Russia is incredibly active in the region, given the historical area of what was once the Soviet Union and Russia’s aggressiveness for its national interests. The region itself is critically important for Europe’s energy consumption due to oil and natural gas pipelines passing through.

The potential Turkey-Russia conflict holds great ramifications on the global stage. Turkey has close military relations with Azerbaijan, while the same can be said about Russia and Armenia. The Russians have two military bases in Armenia and continue to supply the country. However, Russia and Turkey are already on opposing sides in two conflicts: the Syrian and Libyan civil wars. Turkey has deployed Syrians to join the fight in Azerbaijan, following the same Turkish model in Libya. A recent U.S. brokered ceasefire failed almost as soon as it was announced.

This is the third such attempt after both Russia and France failed. All three countries are part of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Minsk Group. The ceasefire was agreed upon Sunday, October 25th yet the fighting resumed the next day.

To conclude, the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has multiple implications. It may impact tensions both regionally and globally due to Turkey and Russia’s backing of opposite sides.

Furthermore, there is also the potential for a humanitarian and refugee crisis. Pulmus7 will continue to monitor the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and offer analysis on its security and geopolitical ramifications.

Latest News:

>> Security Private Scope in Africa

>> Security Private Scope in Europe

>> Security Private Scope in Asia

>> Iran: Regional & International Goals

>> Security Private Scope in the Middle East

Sources