Fate of enclave Armenians unclear

Surrender poses big dilemma for many residents

YEREVAN, Armenia — One day after Azerbaijan used force to assert its authority over a mountainous breakaway region in the South Caucasus, its officials met with representatives of the pro-Armenian enclave Thursday to discuss the future of the residents there under new rule.

Escorted by Russian peacekeepers, a delegation of the government from the enclave Nagorno-Karabakh met in Azerbaijan with representatives of the Azerbaijani government.

The meeting, which took place in the town of Yevlakh, was described by the Azerbaijani presidential administration as having been held in a “constructive and positive atmosphere,” according to a statement by the Azerbaijani presidential administration, but did not produce any immediate results.

Azerbaijan’s brisk military recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh — a strategic slice of land slightly bigger than Rhode Island that is internationally considered to be part of Azerbaijan — could further alter power dynamics in the combustible region where interests of Russia, Turkey, and Western states collide.

Azerbaijan’s victory also posed a humanitarian challenge for tens of thousands of Armenians living there. Citing multiple historic grievances, many Armenians have been adamantly opposed to coming under Azerbaijani rule.

And while President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, in an address Wednesday, promised to create “a paradise” for Armenians in Karabakh and claimed they could “finally breathe a sigh of relief,” few in Nagorno-Karabakh were persuaded. They instead heard a message coming from the leader of a nation many Armenians see as bent on destroying them.

“The biggest problem now is what to do with the many displaced people who cannot return to the villages that were captured by Azerbaijan,” said Olesya Vartanyan, an analyst who assesses the region for the International Crisis Group.

Vartanyan said there were thousands of people in Nagorno-Karabakh who cannot decide what to do: hide in their basements, stay at Russian peacekeeping bases and observation points, or try to flee the region. “People are in panic, and the humanitarian situation there is horrendous,” she said.

In Armenia on Thursday night, thousands again came to the main square of their capital, Yerevan, to urge their government to take a more assertive stance and protect Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Many have been trying to reach relatives in the enclave, now under full control of Azerbaijan, calling and texting them repeatedly.

“There is no telephone connection, no electricity in most buildings, no food there,” said Marianna A. Vorskanyan, who kept trying her friends in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The shift in control also raised questions about the apparent waning of Russia’s influence in the region. Following a 44-day war in 2020, in which Azerbaijan recaptured much of its land, Russia sent about 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the situation and prevent ethnic clashes. But lacking a clear mandate, peacekeepers could not prevent the most recent fighting.