Sakshi Education
By Srirangam Sriram, Sriram's IAS, New Delhi.
Fighting erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus region in late 2020. At the heart of the decades-old conflict is the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the disputed landlocked mountainous region. It is the centre of an unresolved dispute between
- Azerbaijan, in which it lies and to which it legally belongs; and
- its ethnic Armenian majority, backed by neighbouring Armenia.
The ethnic dimension is that Armenia is majority Christian while oil-rich Azerbaijan is majority Muslim.
After the end of World War I and the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, the new Soviet rulers, as part of their divide-and-rule policy in the region, established the Nagorno- Karabakh Autonomous Region within the USSR in the early 1920s.
Under Bolshevik rule, fighting between the two countries was kept in check as Soviet Union was a totalitarian country.
As the Soviet Union began to collapse, its grip on Armenia and Azerbaijan was gradually lost. In 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh legislature passed a resolution to join Armenia despite the region's legal location within Azerbaijan’s borders. As the Soviet Union was dissolving in 1991, the autonomous region officially declared independence. War erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region, leaving thirty thousand casualties and hundreds of thousands of refugees.
During the fighting, the ethnic Armenians gained control of the region. They also occupied Azerbaijani territory outside Karabakh, creating a buffer zone linking Karabakh and Armenia.
Negotiation and mediation efforts, primarily led by the Minsk Group, have failed to produce a permanent solution to the conflict. The Minsk Group, a mediation effort led by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), was created in 1994 to address the dispute and is co-chaired by the United States, France, and Russia. The co-chairs organize summits between the leaders of the two countries and hold individual meetings.
Russia is officially neutral and has sought to play the role of a mediator. Russia calls for a peaceful settlement and restraint during skirmishes. However, Russia is Armenia's main arms supplier and the two countries are military allies.
Turkey is a member of NATO and supports Azerbaijan both militarily and diplomatically.
Iran is officially neutral but repeatedly reaffirmed their support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.
Soon after fighting started in Nagorno-Karabakh, Pakistan openly extended support to Azerbaijan.
The most immediate impact upon Europe would be oil supplies. The Caspian region has rich oil and gas reserves. Two pipelines carry oil and gas from Azerbaijan westward through the Caucasus, and both pass near the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. Any widening conflict could endanger the pipelines; and Europe's hopes of tapping the Caspian region to reduce its dependence upon Russian energy sources.
Also, any escalating conflict could draw in neighboring powers, thanks to Armenia's military pact with Russia and Azerbaijan's pact with Turkey. That could lead to a showdown between Moscow and Ankara, which are already at odds in Syria and Libya.
India wants the fighting to stop and diplomacy to succeed. But Indian groups support Armenia. The two countries have historical ties.
After the end of World War I and the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, the new Soviet rulers, as part of their divide-and-rule policy in the region, established the Nagorno- Karabakh Autonomous Region within the USSR in the early 1920s.
Under Bolshevik rule, fighting between the two countries was kept in check as Soviet Union was a totalitarian country.
As the Soviet Union began to collapse, its grip on Armenia and Azerbaijan was gradually lost. In 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh legislature passed a resolution to join Armenia despite the region's legal location within Azerbaijan’s borders. As the Soviet Union was dissolving in 1991, the autonomous region officially declared independence. War erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region, leaving thirty thousand casualties and hundreds of thousands of refugees.
During the fighting, the ethnic Armenians gained control of the region. They also occupied Azerbaijani territory outside Karabakh, creating a buffer zone linking Karabakh and Armenia.
Negotiation and mediation efforts, primarily led by the Minsk Group, have failed to produce a permanent solution to the conflict. The Minsk Group, a mediation effort led by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), was created in 1994 to address the dispute and is co-chaired by the United States, France, and Russia. The co-chairs organize summits between the leaders of the two countries and hold individual meetings.
Russia is officially neutral and has sought to play the role of a mediator. Russia calls for a peaceful settlement and restraint during skirmishes. However, Russia is Armenia's main arms supplier and the two countries are military allies.
Turkey is a member of NATO and supports Azerbaijan both militarily and diplomatically.
Iran is officially neutral but repeatedly reaffirmed their support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.
Soon after fighting started in Nagorno-Karabakh, Pakistan openly extended support to Azerbaijan.
The most immediate impact upon Europe would be oil supplies. The Caspian region has rich oil and gas reserves. Two pipelines carry oil and gas from Azerbaijan westward through the Caucasus, and both pass near the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. Any widening conflict could endanger the pipelines; and Europe's hopes of tapping the Caspian region to reduce its dependence upon Russian energy sources.
Also, any escalating conflict could draw in neighboring powers, thanks to Armenia's military pact with Russia and Azerbaijan's pact with Turkey. That could lead to a showdown between Moscow and Ankara, which are already at odds in Syria and Libya.
India wants the fighting to stop and diplomacy to succeed. But Indian groups support Armenia. The two countries have historical ties.Published date : 27 Nov 2020 11:29AM
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