Nagorno-karabakh fighting raises threat of deadly escalation
MOSCOW — A Russian attempt to broker a cease-fire to end the worst outbreak of hostilities over the disputed region of Nagorno-karabakh in more than a quarter-century has failed to get any traction, with rivals Azerbaijan and Armenia trading blame for new attacks.
The failure of the truce that was supposed to begin Saturday reflects the uncompromising positions of the two South Caucasus nations that have stymied decades of diplomatic efforts. The escalation of fighting raises the specter of a wider conflict that could draw in Russia and Turkey and threaten Caspian Sea energy exports.
A look at some military and geopolitical aspects of the conflict and its potential fallout:
Roots of the conflict
Nagorno-karabakh, populated mostly by Armenians, was an autonomous region inside Azerbaijan during the Soviet era. Historic tensions between Christian Armenians and mostly Muslim Azerbaijanis, fueled by memories of the 1915 massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks, exploded in the final years of the Soviet Union.
In 1988, the region sought to join Armenia, triggering hostilities that morphed into an all-out war as the USSR collapsed in 1991. By the time a 1994 ceasefire ended the fighting, an estimated 30,000 people had been killed and up to 1 million were displaced. Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-karabakh itself but also seized substantial chunks of land outside the territory’s borders.
Nagorno-karabakh, a forested, mountainous territory that covers about 1,700 square miles, the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, has run its own affairs ever since, relying on Armenia’s support.
Failed peace initiatives
Ever since Armenian forces routed Azerbaijani troops in the war, international mediators have sought a political settlement.
Russia, the United States and France, which co-sponsored the Nagorno-karabakh peace talks under the aegis of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, have put forward numerous peace initiatives, but Armenia’s stiff resistance to surrendering any land has been a key stumbling block.
Azerbaijan, meanwhile, has relied on its oil wealth to modernize its military and now argues that it has the right to reclaim its land by force after nearly three decades of failed international mediation.
Military disparity
While separatist forces in the Nagorno-karabakh and the Armenian military continue to rely mostly on aging Soviet-built weapons, Azerbaijan has completely revamped its arsenal with state-of-the-art attack drones and powerful long-range multiple rocket systems supplied by its neighbor and ally, Turkey.
More than two weeks of fighting has shown that Azerbaijan has clearly outgunned the Nagorno-karabakh forces and put them on the defensive. Azerbaijani troops have made significant advances in several areas around Nagorno-karabakh and showered its towns with rockets and artillery shells.
Armenian forces have countered with Soviet-built howitzers, antiquated BM-21 rocket launchers and obsolete Tochka-u missiles that lack the punch and precision of Azerbaijan’s more modern weapons.
Turkey’s new role
Unlike previous outbursts of hostilities over Nagorno-karabakh, Nato-member Turkey, which has close ethnic, cultural and historic bonds with Azerbaijan, took a higher profile and vowed to help Azerbaijan reclaim its territory. Turkey’s newly assertive role reflects President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambitions to expand his nation’s clout.
Armenian officials say Turkey is directly involved in the conflict and is sending Syrian mercenaries to fight on Azerbaijan’s side. Turkey has denied deploying combatants to the region, but a Syrian war monitor and Syriabased opposition activists have confirmed that Turkey has sent hundreds of Syrian opposition fighters to fight in Nagorno-karabakh.
Armenian authorities also charge that Turkey provides Azerbaijan with intelligence and even air cover, claiming that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down an Armenian warplane. Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied the claim, but Azerbaijan’s president admitted that Turkish F-16s have stayed on in Azerbaijan weeks after a joint military exercise. He insisted that they have remained grounded.