-Nusrat Farhana Naisa
Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, but its population is majority Armenian. As the Soviet Union saw increasing tensions in its constituent republics in the 1980s, Nagorno-Karabakh voted to become part of Armenia - sparking a war with Azerbaijan that stopped with a ceasefire in 1994. It is recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it is controlled by ethnic Armenians with their population being 95% in that region. The two countries fought a bloody war over the region in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and it has been the trigger for further violence in the years since.
The Backstory
The Caucasus is a strategically important mountainous region in south-east Europe. For centuries, both powers of Christians and Muslims tried to seize it. Modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan became part of the Soviet Union when it formed in the 1920s. Nagorno-Karabakh was handed over the area to Azerbaijani authorities even with majority of Armenian population. After the fall of Soviet Union, it was officially voted to be a part of Armenia. At this, Azerbaijan backfired and demanded the region to be theirs. This led to ethnical clashes and soon war spread throughout the region taking lives of thousands of civilians and Azerbaijanis. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh has remained part of Azerbaijan but is controlled by separatist ethnic Armenians backed by the Armenian government. Until recently, negotiations mediated by international powers had failed to deliver a peace agreement.
Armenia is majority Christian while Azerbaijan is majority Muslim. Turkey has close ties to Azerbaijan, while Russia is allied with Armenia - although it also has good relations with Azerbaijan. Fighting came to an end in November when both sides agreed to sign a Russian-brokered peace deal. Under its terms, Azerbaijan holds on to several areas that it gained control of during the conflict and Armenia will withdraw troops from them. Almost 2,000 Russian peacekeepers will monitor the truce.
Current Concerns
Without the recent rehabilitation efforts, the cease-fire violation could also lead to reignite military conflict between the two countries and destabilize the caucuses region of the Middle East. Given that Azerbaijan produces 800 thousand tons of oil to Europe and central Asia, the oil and gas export business could also be disrupted resulting in huge economic loss. Russia has promised to defend Armenia, Turkey has pledged to support Azerbaijan, and Iran has a large Azeri minority, which could escalate a crisis and further complicate efforts to secure peace in the region.
(Source: BBC News, Global Conflict Tracker, Wikipedia, CNN and Britannica)
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