Nagorno Karabakh: The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict made one of the most critical international news in 2020. The two nations, surrounded by Russia, Turkey and Iran are in a conflict over the Nagorno Karabakh region for decades. On September 27, an explosion took place in the region as both sides accused each other of firing and bombing the civilian regions across the Line of Control. 

Armenia (a country of 30 lakh people with 95 per cent Christians), and Azerbaijan (with a population of one crore, 99 per cent of whom are Muslims), are both secular nations. Both were part of the erstwhile USSR before 1991.  

After the disintegration of the USSR, both Armenia and Azerbaijan claimed Nagorno Karabakh, a mountainous area with heavy forests in the South Caucasus, much like the Jammu and Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. 

While Azerbaijan held a part of the disputed area, a majority of Nagorno Karabakh is under Armenia’s control. The division of power is marked by the Line of Control. 

As per 2015 census, 1.5 lakh people lived in Nagorno Karabakh, an area of 4,400 sq km. A majority of its population is ethnically Armenian.  

Nagorno Karabakh has been disputed since 1918 when Armenia and Azerbaijan became independent from USSR. In early 1920, Nagorno Karabakh became an autonomous region within the then-Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. Most power decisions for the region were made in Moscow. 

In 1988, the legislature of the Armenian enclave Nagorno Karabakh voted in a referendum to secede from Azerbaijan, which had ruled the enclave for 64 years. However, the demand was opposed strongly by both the Azerbaijani Soviet government and Moscow. 

Later, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, Yerevan-back Armenian separatists seized Nagorno Karabakh, home to a considerable Azerbaijani minority, along with seven other districts of Azerbaijan, causing the killing of at least 30,000 people in the fighting. 

Since then, the Armenian-controlled part of Nagorno Karabakh is controlled by Armenian separatists. However, as per international law, Azerbaijan declared these actions illegal, citing that the Soviet Union during disintegration had said that it will be controlled by Muslim-dominant Azerbaijan.  

A man stands near an explosion crater near a school, after shelling by Azerbaijan's artillery during a military conflict in Stepanakert, the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020. (AP Photo)

Several clashes, ceasefire violations, violent activities have been reported from the region since then. In 2016, dozens of people were killed in the worst clashes in Nagorno Karabakh in a four-day war. 

In May 1994, Russia brokered a truce between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the enclave, after which Armenia gained almost total control over Nagorno Karabakh. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced after the truce. While Russia was not able to send troops as per the deal, it did end up leading a new international group with the US and France to find a permanent solution to the conflict. 

Russia has maintained close relations with both countries. While it has a military base in Armenia,  Azerbaijan is Russia's one of the most important buyers of weapons.  

Turkey, a NATO member led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is a long-time ally of Azerbaijan and has said that it will assist the nation in all ways, including military support. Following this, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan claimed that the “aggression is pre-planned’ with Turkish support. Apart from being ethnically, culturally and historically related to Azerbaijan, Turkey is the main conduit for Azerbaijan’s oil and gas exports. Economically, Azerbaijan is one of the main investors in Turkey. Historically, one of the main genocides against Armenians was led by Ottoman Turks, something which both Turkey and Azerbaijan deny. 

While Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting over Nagorno Karabakh, the citizens of the two countries have been battling on social media and the mass media openly spreads propaganda against one other.  

On November 8, Azerbaijan captured the historic city of Shusha, 15 km from Stepanakert. That’s when Armenia agreed to surrender.  

On November 9, facilitated by Moscow, the two nations agreed to cease fighting in the region after six weeks of the war. Azerbaijan took back the Armenia-controlled territory held since the 1990s, leaving Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, elected after overthrowing the dictatorial government in one of the most peaceful protests in recent world history, politically vulnerable after discontent with how he handled the war and the cease-fire. 

The truce called for 2,000 Russian troops to serve as peacekeepers in the conflicted zone. The deal also paved the way for the construction of a road in the region, giving Turkey access to Azerbaijan. Turkey will also send its peacekeeping troops in the region as part of the truce. 

While Azerbaijan is celebrating and Turkey and Russia won strategic rewards, Armenia is in turmoil, with the mobs storming its Parliament and calling for the removal of the prime minister.  

The agreement hasn’t done much to end the conflict between the two countries, and experts believe it could possibly have another round.