What’s Nagorno-Karabakh and Why Do Azerbaijan and Armenia Fight Over It?

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have clashed repeatedly over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. During a short war in 2020, Azerbaijani forces backed by Turkey regained control of seven surrounding districts that had been occupied by Armenians since the early 1990s. Azerbaijan also took over part of Nagorno-Karabakh itself, a territory largely populated by Armenians but which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. While a truce brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin halted fighting then, energy-rich Azerbaijan and landlocked Armenia haven’t reached a final peace agreement. On Sept. 19, Azerbaijan started a military operation again to take full control of the region, halting it the next day under an agreement mediated by Russian peacekeepers. By the end of the month, more than half of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population had fled to Armenia amid accusations of ethnic cleansing. Local leaders said they’d disband and hand over to Azerbaijan by Jan. 1.

The 2020 truce provided for Russian peacekeepers to police a road, known as the Lachin corridor, through which people could travel between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. However, traffic on the route was blocked in December 2022, leading to shortages of food and essential goods for the territory’s Armenian population, which local officials put at 120,000 people. Azerbaijan denied imposing a blockade, though by early September more than 30 trucks from Armenia loaded with supplies were held up at the border, some for almost seven weeks. Russian peacekeeping troops control the corridor under the truce, but haven’t intervened. Armenia appealed to the US, Europe and Iran to help to help defuse the standoff; the US State Department urged dialogue. On Sept. 18, the International Committee of the Red Cross began delivering food and medicines to the region. A day later, Azerbaijan began what its Defense Ministry called a “local anti-terrorist operation” aimed at taking control of the disputed territory. The fighting ended quickly, with Armenians agreeing to disarm. More than half the population of the region fled to Armenia in the ensuing days. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described it to visiting US officials as “ethnic cleansing.” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev denied the charge and has called for Armenians to stay, saying their rights would be protected and living standards would improve as the region is reintegrated. The Armenian leaders there said on Sept. 28 that they would dissolve their unrecognized administration by Jan. 1.