Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Nagorno-Karabakh, being an integral part of the whole of Karabakh, is one of the oldest settlements and centers of culture in Azerbaijan. In 1923, under Soviet rule, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO) was created in the mountainous part of Karabakh on a territory of 4.4 thousand km², which contributed to the emergence of separatist aspirations. In fact, at the root of the problem lay the desire of the Armenians, who had been resettled in Karabakh since the 18th century, to appropriate Azerbaijani lands.

The Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict flared up in 1988 with the open claims of Armenians to the ancestral lands of Azerbaijan and provocations on ethnic grounds. Taking advantage of the weakness of the central Soviet government, the Armenians in the leadership of the USSR, the ruling elite of the Armenian SSR and the Armenian diaspora, from the beginning of the 80s launched a stormy activity with the aim of annexing the NKAO to Armenia.

In 1987-89 Over 250,000 Azerbaijanis living in Armenia were forcibly expelled from their ancestral lands, 216 of them were brutally killed, 1,154 people were injured.

On February 20, 1988, at a meeting of the Council of People's Deputies of the NKAO, representatives of the Armenian community sent petitions to the Supreme Soviets of the Azerbaijan and Armenian SSRs to separate the NKAO from the Azerbaijan SSR and join the Armenian SSR.

On February 22, 1988, near Askeran, Armenians opened fire on peaceful Azerbaijanis who were protesting against the decision made by the Council of People's Deputies of the NKAR. As a result, two young Azerbaijanis were killed, becoming the first victims of this conflict.

On December 1, 1989, the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR adopted a decision on the "reunification" of the Armenian SSR and Nagorno-Karabakh. On January 10, 1990, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a decision "On the inconsistency of the Constitution of the USSR with the decisions regarding Nagorno-Karabakh adopted by the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR on December 1, 1989 and January 9, 1990", which emphasized the illegality of the annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh to the Armenian SSR without the consent of Azerbaijan SSR.

On August 30, 1991, the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan proclaimed the restoration of state independence. On October 18, 1991, the Constitutional Act "On State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan" was adopted.

On November 26, 1991, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan adopted the law “On the liquidation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region of the Republic of Azerbaijan”.

At the end of 1991 - beginning of 1992, the stage of armed confrontation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict began. Taking advantage of the political instability that arose as a result of the collapse of the USSR and internal strife in Azerbaijan, Armenia, with military assistance from abroad, began hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In February 1992, a massacre of the Azerbaijani population unprecedented in its cruelty was carried out in Khojaly. As a result of the bloody tragedy, which went down in history as the Khojaly genocide, thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed and disappeared, and the city itself was wiped off the face of the earth.

In May 1992, the Armenians occupied Shusha and the Lachin region, located between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. In 1993, the armed forces of Armenia captured six more regions around Nagorno-Karabakh - Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fizuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangelan.

On April 30, 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 822 demanding the immediate withdrawal of the occupying troops from the territory of Kalbajar and other occupied regions of Azerbaijan.

On July 29, 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 853, containing a demand for the complete, immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying troops from the territory of Aghdam and other occupied regions of Azerbaijan.

On October 14, 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 874, which contained a demand to take urgent, mutual and necessary actions in accordance with the timetable for the settlement of the CSCE Minsk Group, including the withdrawal of troops from the newly occupied territories.

On November 11, 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 884, which condemned the occupation of the Zangelan region and the village of Horadiz, the attack on the civilian population and the bombing of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and demanded a unilateral withdrawal of the occupying forces from the Zangelan region, the village of Horadiz and other recently occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

As a result of the military expansion of Armenia, 20% of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan was occupied - Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions - the city of Khankendi, Khojaly, Shusha, Lachin, Khojavend, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fizuli, Jabrayil, Gubadly, Zangelan, as well as 13 villages of Terter district, 7 villages of Gazakh region and 1 village of Sadarak region of Nakhchivan.

As a result of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, more than 1 million Azerbaijanis became internally displaced, 20 thousand people were killed during hostilities, 50 thousand people became disabled, about 4 thousand Azerbaijanis went missing, including 67 children, 265 women and 326 old people. To this day, nothing is known about their fate. Over two thousand Azerbaijanis were taken captive and hostage by the Armenians.

In 1988-1993 900 settlements, 150 thousand houses, 7 thousand public buildings, 693 schools, 855 kindergartens, 695 medical institutions, 927 libraries, 44 temples, 9 mosques, 473 historical monuments, palaces and museums were destroyed in Karabakh, 40 thousand museum exhibits were destroyed , 6 thousand industrial and agricultural enterprises, 160 bridges and other infrastructure facilities.

Monuments of world significance were located in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, among which were the medieval 11- and 15-arch Khudaferin bridges and the Bronze Age Niftala mounds in Jabrayil, the medieval Ganjasar and Khudavang monasteries in Kelbajar, the Gutlu Musa oglu mausoleum dating from the 14th century and belonging to the Bronze Age residential area of ​​Uzerliktepe in Aghdam, the Azykh and Taglar caves in Khojavend dating back to the Paleolithic era, the burial mounds of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Khojaly.

Mediation in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict began in February 1992 within the framework of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). At an additional meeting of the Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the CSCE, held on March 24, 1992 in Helsinki, it was decided to convene a conference on Nagorno-Karabakh in Minsk in order to provide a forum for negotiating a peaceful settlement with a view to an early resolution of the crisis on the basis of principles, obligations and provisions CSCE.

On May 12, 1994, an agreement on a ceasefire regime was reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On December 5-6, 1994, at the CSCE summit in Budapest, in order to coordinate mediation efforts within the framework of the CSCE, a decision was made to establish the institute of co-chairmanship of the Minsk Conference. At the Budapest Summit, the CSCE Chairman-in-Office was instructed to conduct negotiations to reach a political agreement on ending the armed conflict. This political agreement was intended to eliminate the consequences of the conflict and allow the convening of the Minsk Conference.

On March 23, 1995, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office issued a mandate to the co-chairs of the Minsk process. At the summit in Lisbon on December 2-3, 1996, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office recommended the fundamental principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, which Armenia rejected, becoming the only one of the 54 OSCE member states that voted against the proposal.

Azerbaijan hopes for a more resolute and consistent position of the international community on the issue of a just settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, which will contribute to the establishment of long-term peace, stability and an atmosphere of cooperation in the region, as well as force Armenia to start working on a final peace agreement based on the principles proposed by the co-chairs of the Minsk the OSCE group.

Numerous documents adopted by many international organizations emphasize the need to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The resolution adopted on March 14, 2008 by the UN General Assembly covered the legal, political and humanitarian aspects of the conflict, reaffirming the principles of its settlement. These principles boil down to respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, ensuring the rights of persons who have become internally displaced as a result of the conflict to return to their homes, ensuring conditions for the joint residence of both communities in the territory of Azerbaijan. the status of autonomy within Azerbaijan and the illegality of the situation that arose as a result of the occupation.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been repeatedly discussed in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Guided by the norms and principles of international law, the OIC declared Azerbaijan a victim of military expansion. Adopted back in 1993 at the 21st meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the OIC member countries in Karachi, the resolution condemned the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories, demanding the immediate withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The resolution demanded that Armenia respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, called for a fair, peaceful settlement of the conflict, based on the principles of territorial integrity and inviolability of borders. In the regular resolutions of the OIC on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the organization called on the UN Security Council to actively participate in the political settlement of the conflict, fully ensure the implementation of four resolutions and recognize the fact of aggression committed against Azerbaijan.

In 2016, within the framework of the OIC summit in Istanbul, a "Contact Group in connection with the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan" was created. It consists of 7 countries - Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Morocco, Djibouti and Gambia.

The European Union called for the implementation of four well-known UN Security Council resolutions on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories, the parties to respect the territorial integrity and internationally recognized borders of states, and to abandon the illegitimate situation that has developed by force. The Joint Statement, adopted at the Eastern Partnership Summit on 24 November 2017, reiterated support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of states, demonstrating the determination of all EU partners in these matters. At the beginning of 2016, while specific plans for resolving the conflict were being discussed, Armenia resorted to military provocation by subjecting the territories densely populated by civilians along the entire line of contact to massive artillery fire on April 2. As a result, 6 civilians from among the Azerbaijani population, including children, were killed, 33 people were seriously injured. Having given a worthy rebuff to the enemy, the armed forces of Azerbaijan liberated strategic heights as a result of a counteroffensive. During the April battles, the village of Jojug Merjanly of the Jabrayil region was completely liberated from the Armenian occupation. On the basis of the relevant orders of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on measures to restore the village of Jojug Merjanly, a lot of work was carried out to restore and improve the liberated territory, normal life was restored in the village.

The political and military provocations of Armenia continued in 2017 as well. The Armenian army fired heavy artillery at the positions of the Azerbaijani troops and the places of residence of the civilian population along the entire front line. As a result, on July 4, in the village of Alkhanli, Fizuli region, 2 civilians were killed, one person was seriously injured.

Despite the peacekeeping efforts of Azerbaijan, Armenia, with its destructive policy, prevents a phased resolution of the conflict, seeks to disrupt the negotiation process through political and military provocations, while maintaining the current status quo based on the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan. The Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved within the internationally recognized borders and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The world community unequivocally recognizes and supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev openly stated that “Territorial integrity is not and will never be a subject of discussion. Azerbaijan will not retreat from this position. There will be no concessions on the issue of territorial integrity.”

Territories of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia

Nagorno-Karabakh

Territory - 4388 km 2

Population (1989) - 189.085 people.

Shusha region of Nagorno-Karabakh

Territory - 312 km 2

Population - 20579 people.

Azerbaijani population - 19.036 people. (92.5%)

Armenian population - 1.377 (6.7%)

Adjacent areas Dates of occupation

Documents of international and regional organizations on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In a series of interethnic conflicts that engulfed the Soviet Union in the last years of its existence, Nagorno-Karabakh became the first. The restructuring policy launched Mikhail Gorbachev, was tested for strength by the events in Karabakh. The audit showed the complete failure of the new Soviet leadership.

A region with a complex history

Nagorno-Karabakh, a small piece of land in the Transcaucasus, has an ancient and difficult fate, where the life paths of neighbors - Armenians and Azerbaijanis are intertwined.

The geographical region of Karabakh is divided into flat and mountainous parts. The Azerbaijani population historically dominated in Plain Karabakh, and the Armenian population in Nagorny.

Wars, peace, wars again - and so the peoples lived side by side, now at enmity, now reconciling. After the collapse of the Russian Empire, Karabakh became the scene of a fierce Armenian-Azerbaijani war of 1918-1920. The confrontation, in which nationalists played the main role on both sides, came to naught only after the establishment of Soviet power in the Transcaucasus.

In the summer of 1921, after a heated discussion, the Central Committee of the RCP (b) decided to leave Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the Azerbaijan SSR and grant it wide regional autonomy.

The Autonomous Oblast of Nagorno-Karabakh, which became the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in 1937, preferred to consider itself part of the Soviet Union rather than part of the Azerbaijan SSR.

"Defrosting" mutual grievances

For many years, these subtleties were ignored in Moscow. Attempts in the 1960s to raise the topic of the transfer of Nagorno-Karabakh to the Armenian SSR were severely suppressed - then the central leadership considered that such nationalist encroachments should be nipped in the bud.

But the Armenian population of the NKAO still had a reason for concern. If in 1923 Armenians made up over 90 percent of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, by the mid-1980s this percentage had dropped to 76. This was no accident - the leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR deliberately staked on changing the ethnic component of the region.

While the situation in the country as a whole remained stable, everything was calm in Nagorno-Karabakh too. Minor skirmishes on national grounds were not taken seriously.

Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika, among other things, "unfrozen" the discussion of previously taboo topics. For the nationalists, whose existence until now was possible only in the deep underground, this was a real gift of fate.

It was in Chardakhlu

Big things always start small. The Armenian village of Chardakhly existed in the Shamkhor region of Azerbaijan. During the Great Patriotic War, 1250 people went to the front from the village. Of these, half were awarded orders and medals, two became marshals, twelve were generals, seven were Heroes of the Soviet Union.

In 1987 secretary of the district committee of the Asadov party decided to replace director of the local state farm Yegiyan on the leader-Azerbaijani.

The villagers were outraged not even by the dismissal of Yegiyan, who was accused of abuse, but by the way it was done. Asadov acted rudely, impudently, suggesting that the former director "leave for Yerevan." In addition, the new director, according to the locals, was "a barbeque with a primary education."

The inhabitants of Chardakhlu were not afraid of the Nazis, they were not afraid of the head of the district committee either. They simply refused to recognize the new appointee, and Asadov began to threaten the villagers.

From a letter from Chardakhly residents to the USSR Prosecutor General: “Every visit of Asadov to the village is accompanied by a detachment of police and a fire engine. There was no exception and the first of December. Arriving with a police detachment late in the evening, he forcibly gathered the communists in order to hold the party meeting he needed. When he did not succeed, they began to beat the people, arrested and took 15 people on a pre-arrived bus. Among those beaten and arrested were participants and invalids of the Great Patriotic War ( Vartanian V., Martirosyan X.,Gabrielian A. etc.), milkmaids, advanced link ( Minasyan G.) and even former deputy of the Supreme Council of Az. SSR of many convocations Movsesyan M.

Not satisfied with his atrocity, the misanthropic Asadov again on December 2, with an even larger police detachment, organized another pogrom in his homeland Marshal Baghramyan on his 90th birthday. This time 30 people were beaten and arrested. Such sadism and lawlessness would be the envy of any racist from the colonial countries.”

“We want to go to Armenia!”

An article about the events in Chardakhly was published in the newspaper Selskaya Zhizn. If the center did not attach much importance to what was happening, then in Nagorno-Karabakh a wave of indignation arose among the Armenian population. How so? Why does the unbelted functionary go unpunished? What will happen next?

“The same thing will happen to us if we don’t join Armenia,” it doesn’t really matter who said it first and when. The main thing is that already at the beginning of 1988, the official press organ of the Nagorno-Karabakh regional committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan and the Council of People's Deputies of the NKAO "Soviet Karabakh" began to print materials that supported this idea.

Delegations of the Armenian intelligentsia went to Moscow one after another. Meeting with representatives of the Central Committee of the CPSU, they assured that in the 1920s Nagorno-Karabakh was assigned to Azerbaijan by mistake, and now is the time to correct it. In Moscow, in the light of the policy of perestroika, the delegates were received, promising to study the issue. In Nagorno-Karabakh, this was perceived as the readiness of the center to support the transfer of the region to the Azerbaijan SSR.

The situation began to heat up. Slogans, especially from the lips of young people, sounded more and more radical. People far from politics began to fear for their safety. They began to look at neighbors of a different nationality with suspicion.

The leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR held a meeting of party and economic activists in the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, at which they denounced "separatists" and "nationalists". The stigma was, in general, correct, but, on the other hand, did not give answers to the question of how to live on. Among the party activists of Nagorno-Karabakh, the majority supported calls for the transfer of the region to Armenia.

Politburo for all good things

The situation began to get out of control of the authorities. Since mid-February 1988, a rally was held almost non-stop in the central square of Stepanakert, the participants of which demanded the transfer of the NKAR to Armenia. Actions in support of this demand began in Yerevan as well.

On February 20, 1988, an extraordinary session of people's deputies of the NKAO addressed the Supreme Soviets of the Armenian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR and the USSR with a request to consider and positively resolve the issue of transferring the NKAO from Azerbaijan to Armenia: The Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR to show a deep understanding of the aspirations of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and resolve the issue of transferring the NKAO from the Azerbaijan SSR to the Armenian SSR, at the same time petition the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for a positive decision on the issue of transferring the NKAO from the Azerbaijan SSR to the Armenian SSR " ,

Every action creates a reaction. Mass actions began to take place in Baku and other cities of Azerbaijan demanding to stop the attacks of Armenian extremists and keep Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the republic.

On February 21, the situation was considered at a meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. What Moscow decides was closely monitored by both sides of the conflict.

“Consistently guided by the Leninist principles of national policy, the Central Committee of the CPSU appealed to the patriotic and internationalist feelings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani population with an appeal not to succumb to the provocations of nationalist elements, to strengthen in every possible way the great asset of socialism - the fraternal friendship of the Soviet peoples,” the text published after the discussion said. .

Probably, this was the essence of Mikhail Gorbachev's policy - general correct phrases about everything good and against everything bad. But persuasion didn't help. While the creative intelligentsia spoke at rallies and in the press, the local radicals more and more often controlled the process.

Rally in the center of Yerevan in February 1988. Photo: RIA Novosti / Ruben Mangasaryan

First blood and pogrom in Sumgayit

The Shusha region of Nagorno-Karabakh was the only one in which the Azerbaijani population predominated. The situation here was fueled by rumors that in Yerevan and Stepanakert "Azerbaijani women and children are being brutally murdered." There were no real grounds for these rumors, but they were enough for an armed crowd of Azerbaijanis to start a “campaign to Stepanakert” on February 22 to “put things in order”.

Near the village of Askeran, the distraught avengers were met by police cordons. It was not possible to reason with the crowd, shots were fired. Two people were killed, and, ironically, one of the first victims of the conflict was an Azerbaijani who was killed by an Azerbaijani policeman.

The real explosion occurred where they were not expected - in Sumgayit, a satellite city of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. At that time, people began to appear there, calling themselves "refugees from Karabakh" and talking about the horrors committed by the Armenians. In fact, there was not a word of truth in the stories of the "refugees", but they heated up the situation.

Sumgayit, founded in 1949, was a multinational city - Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Russians, Jews, Ukrainians lived and worked here for decades ... Nobody was ready for what happened in the last days of February 1988.

It is believed that the last straw was a TV report about a skirmish near Askeran, where two Azerbaijanis were killed. A rally in Sumgayit in support of the preservation of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan turned into an action at which the slogans “Death to the Armenians!” began to sound.

Local authorities and law enforcement agencies could not stop what was happening. Pogroms began in the city, which lasted for two days.

According to official figures, 26 Armenians died in Sumgayit, hundreds were injured. It was possible to stop the madness only after the introduction of troops. But here, too, everything turned out to be not so simple - at first, the military was ordered to exclude the use of weapons. Only after the number of wounded soldiers and officers exceeded a hundred, patience snapped. Six Azerbaijanis were added to the dead Armenians, after which the riots ceased.

Exodus

The blood of Sumgayit has made ending the conflict in Karabakh an extremely difficult task. For Armenians, this pogrom became a reminder of the massacres in the Ottoman Empire that took place at the beginning of the 20th century. In Stepanakert they repeated: “Look what they are doing? Can we stay in Azerbaijan after that?”

Despite the fact that Moscow began to use tough measures, there was no logic in them. It happened that two members of the Politburo, coming to Yerevan and Baku, made mutually exclusive promises. The authority of the central government fell catastrophically.

After Sumgayit, the exodus of Azerbaijanis from Armenia and Armenians from Azerbaijan began. Frightened people, leaving everything acquired, fled from their neighbors, who suddenly became enemies.

It would be unfair to talk only about the scum. Not all of them were knocked down - during the pogroms in Sumgayit, the Azerbaijanis, often at the risk of their own lives, hid the Armenians. In Stepanakert, where the "avengers" started hunting the Azerbaijanis, they were rescued by the Armenians.

But these worthy people could not stop the growing conflict. Here and there, new clashes broke out, which did not have time to stop the internal troops brought into the region.

The general crisis that began in the USSR increasingly diverted the attention of politicians from the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh. Neither side was ready to make concessions. By the beginning of 1990, illegal armed formations on both sides launched hostilities, the number of dead and wounded was already in the tens and hundreds.

Servicemen of the USSR Ministry of Defense on the streets of the city of Fuzuli. Introduction of a state of emergency on the territory of the NKAR, the regions of the Azerbaijan SSR bordering it. Photo: RIA Novosti / Igor Mikhalev

Education in hate

Immediately after the August putsch of 1991, when the central government practically ceased to exist, independence was proclaimed not only by Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Since September 1991, what is happening in the region has become a war in the full sense of the word. And when, at the end of the year, units of the internal troops of the already defunct USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs were withdrawn from Nagorno-Karabakh, no one else could prevent the massacre.

The Karabakh war, which lasted until May 1994, ended with the signing of an armistice agreement. The total losses of the parties killed by independent experts are estimated at 25-30 thousand people.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has existed as an unrecognized state for more than a quarter of a century. The Azerbaijani authorities still declare their intention to regain control over the lost territories. Fighting of varying intensity on the contact line breaks out regularly.

On both sides, people will be blinded by hatred. Even a neutral comment about a neighboring country is seen as a national betrayal. From an early age, children are instilled with the idea of ​​who is the main enemy that must be destroyed.

“From where and for what, neighbor,
So many troubles have fallen on us?

Armenian poet Hovhannes Tumanyan in 1909 he wrote the poem "A drop of honey". In Soviet times, it was well known to schoolchildren in the translation of Samuil Marshak. Tumanyan, who died in 1923, could not have known what would happen in Nagorno-Karabakh at the end of the 20th century. But this wise man, who knew history well, in one poem showed how sometimes monstrous fratricidal conflicts arise from mere trifles. Do not be too lazy to find and read it in full, and we will give only its ending:

... And the fire of war blazed,
And two countries are ruined
And there is no one to mow the field,
And there is no one to carry the dead.
And only death, ringing scythe,
Wandering through the desert...
Leaning at the gravestones
Alive to Alive says:
- Where and for what, neighbor,
So many troubles have fallen on us?
Here the story ends.
And if any of you
Ask the narrator a question
Who is more guilty here - a cat or a dog,
And is it really so much evil
Crazy fly brought -
The people will answer for us:
There will be flies - if there was honey! ..

P.S. The Armenian village of Chardakhlu, the birthplace of the heroes, ceased to exist at the end of 1988. More than 300 families inhabiting it moved to Armenia, where they settled in the village of Zorakan. Previously, this village was Azerbaijani, but with the outbreak of the conflict, its inhabitants became refugees, just like the inhabitants of Chardakhlu.

Armenian soldiers in positions in Nagorno-Karabakh

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict became one of the ethno-political conflicts of the second half of the 1980s on the territory of the then Soviet Union. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to large-scale structural shifts in the sphere of ethno-national relations. The confrontation between the national republics and the union center, which caused a systemic crisis and the beginning of centrifugal processes, revived the long-standing processes of ethnic and national character. State-legal, territorial, socio-economic, geopolitical interests intertwined into one knot. The struggle of some republics against the union center in a number of cases turned into a struggle of autonomies against their republican "mother countries". Such conflicts were, for example, the Georgian-Abkhazian, Georgian-Ossetian, Transnistrian conflicts. But the most large-scale and bloody, which escalated into an actual war between two independent states, was the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO), later the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). In this confrontation, a line of ethnic confrontation of the parties immediately arose, and the warring parties were formed along ethnic lines: Armenian-Azerbaijanis.

The Armenian-Azerbaijani confrontation in Nagorno-Karabakh has a long history. It should be noted that the territory of Karabakh was annexed to the Russian Empire in 1813 as part of the Karabakh Khanate. Interethnic contradictions led to major Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes in 1905-1907 and 1918-1920. In May 1918, in connection with the revolution in Russia, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic appeared. However, the Armenian population of Karabakh, whose territory became part of the ADR, refused to obey the new authorities. Armed confrontation continued until the establishment of Soviet power in the region in 1920. Then the units of the Red Army, together with the Azerbaijani troops, managed to suppress the Armenian resistance in Karabakh. In 1921, by decision of the Caucasus Bureau of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was left within the boundaries of the Azerbaijan SSR with broad autonomy granted. In 1923, the regions of the Azerbaijan SSR with a predominantly Armenian population were united into the Autonomous Region of Nagorno-Karabakh (AONK), which since 1937 became known as the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO). At the same time, the administrative boundaries of the autonomy did not coincide with the ethnic ones. The Armenian leadership from time to time raised the issue of transferring Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, but in the center it was decided to establish the status quo in the region. Socio-economic tensions in Karabakh escalated into riots in the 1960s. At the same time, the Karabakh Armenians felt infringed on their cultural and political rights in the territory of Azerbaijan. However, the Azeri minority, both in the NKAR and in the Armenian SSR (which did not have its own autonomy), made counter accusations of discrimination.

Since 1987, the dissatisfaction of the Armenian population with their socio-economic situation has increased in the region. There were accusations against the leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR of maintaining the economic backwardness of the region, of infringing on the rights, culture and identity of the Armenian minority in Azerbaijan. In addition, the existing problems, previously hushed up, after Gorbachev came to power, quickly became the property of wide publicity. At the rallies in Yerevan, caused by dissatisfaction with the economic crisis, there were calls to transfer the NKAR to Armenia. Nationalist Armenian organizations and the nascent national movement fueled the protests. The new leadership of Armenia was openly opposed to the local nomenklatura and the ruling communist regime as a whole. Azerbaijan, in turn, remained one of the most conservative republics of the USSR. Local authorities, headed by H. Aliyev, suppressed all kinds of political dissent and remained loyal to the center to the last. Unlike Armenia, where most of the party functionaries expressed their readiness to cooperate with the national movement, the Azerbaijani political leadership was able to hold power until 1992 in the fight against the so-called. national democratic movement. However, the leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR, state and law enforcement agencies, using the old levers of influence, were not ready for the events in the NKAO and Armenia, which, in turn, provoked mass demonstrations in Azerbaijan, which created conditions for uncontrolled crowd behavior. In turn, the Soviet leadership, who feared that the speeches in Armenia on the annexation of the NKAO, could lead not only to a revision of the national-territorial borders between the republics, but could also lead to the uncontrolled collapse of the USSR. The demands of the Karabakh Armenians and the public of Armenia were considered by him as manifestations of nationalism, contrary to the interests of the working people of the Armenian and Azerbaijan SSR.

During the summer of 1987 - winter of 1988. On the territory of the NKAR, mass protests of Armenians were held, demanding secession from Azerbaijan. In a number of places, these protests escalated into clashes with the police. At the same time, representatives of the Armenian intellectual elite, public, political and cultural figures tried to actively lobby for the reunification of Karabakh with Armenia. Signatures were collected among the population, delegations were sent to Moscow, representatives of the Armenian diaspora abroad tried to draw the attention of the international community to the aspirations of Armenians for reunification. At the same time, the Azerbaijani leadership, which declared the unacceptability of revising the borders of the Azerbaijan SSR, pursued a policy of using the usual levers to regain control over the situation. A large delegation of representatives of the leadership of Azerbaijan and the republican party organization was sent to Stepanakert. The group also included the heads of the Republican Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB, the Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Court. This delegation condemned "extremist-separatist" sentiments in the region. In response to these actions, a mass rally was organized in Stepanakert on the reunification of the NKAR and the Armenian SSR. On February 20, 1988, the session of people's deputies of the NKAR addressed the leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR and the USSR with a request to consider and positively resolve the issue of transferring the NKAO from Azerbaijan to Armenia. However, the Azerbaijani authorities and the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU refused to recognize the demands of the regional council of the NKAR. The central authorities continued to state that the redrawing of the borders was unacceptable, and calls for the entry of Karabakh into Armenia were declared the intrigues of "nationalists" and "extremists." Immediately after the appeal of the Armenian majority (Azerbaijani representatives refused to take part in the meeting) of the NKAR Regional Council about the separation of Karabakh from Azerbaijan, a slow slide to an armed conflict began. There were first reports of acts of inter-ethnic violence in both ethnic communities. The explosion of the rally activity of the Armenians provoked a response from the Azerbaijani community. It came to clashes with the use of firearms and the participation of law enforcement officers. The first victims of the conflict appeared. In February, a mass strike began in the NKAO, which lasted intermittently until December 1989. On February 22-23, spontaneous rallies were held in Baku and other cities of Azerbaijan in support of the decision of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee on the inadmissibility of revising the national-territorial structure.

The pogrom of Armenians in Sumgayit on February 27-29, 1988 became a turning point in the development of the inter-ethnic conflict. According to official figures, 26 Armenians and 6 Azerbaijanis were killed. Similar events took place in Kirovabad (now Ganja), where an armed crowd of Azerbaijanis attacked the Armenian community. However, the densely populated Armenians managed to fight back, which led to casualties on both sides. All this happened with the inaction of the authorities and the rule of law, as some eyewitnesses claimed. As a result of the clashes, flows of Azerbaijani refugees began to flow from the NKAR. Armenian refugees also appeared after the events in Stepanakert, Kirovabad and Shusha, when rallies for the integrity of the Azerbaijan SSR escalated into inter-ethnic clashes and pogroms. Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes also began on the territory of the Armenian SSR. The reaction of the central authorities was the change of party leaders in Armenia and Azerbaijan. On May 21, troops were brought into Stepanakert. According to Azerbaijani sources, the Azerbaijani population was expelled from several cities of the Armenian SSR, and as a result of the strike, obstacles were placed in the NKAR to local Azerbaijanis who were not allowed to work. In June-July, the conflict took on an inter-republican orientation. The Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR unleashed the so-called "war of laws". The Supreme Presidium of the AzSSR declared unacceptable the decision of the regional council of the NKAO on secession from Azerbaijan. The Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR agreed to the entry of the NKAR into the Armenian SSR. In July, mass strikes began in Armenia in connection with the decision of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU on the territorial integrity of the Azerbaijan SSR. The allied leadership actually took the side of the Azerbaijan SSR on the issue of maintaining the existing borders. After a series of clashes in the NKAR on September 21, 1988, a curfew and a special situation were introduced. Rally activity on the territory of Armenia and Azerbaijan led to outbreaks of violence against the civilian population and increased the number of refugees who formed two counter streams. In October and the first half of November, the tension increased. Thousands of rallies were held in Armenia and Azerbaijan, and representatives of the Karabakh party won the early elections to the Supreme Council of the Republic of the Armenian SSR, taking a radical position on the annexation of the NKAR to Armenia. The arrival in Stepanakert of members of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR did not bring any result. In November 1988, the accumulated discontent in society over the results of the policy of the republican authorities regarding the preservation of the NKAR resulted in thousands of rallies in Baku. The death sentence of one of the defendants in the case of the Sumgayit pogroms, Akhmedov, pronounced by the Supreme Court of the USSR, provoked a wave of pogroms in Baku, which spread to the whole of Azerbaijan, especially to cities with an Armenian population - Kirovabad, Nakhichevan, Khanlar, Shamkhor, Sheki, Kazakh, Mingachevir. The army and police in most cases did not interfere in the events. At the same time, shelling of border villages on the territory of Armenia began. A special situation was also introduced in Yerevan and rallies and demonstrations were banned, military equipment and battalions with special weapons were brought to the streets of the city. During this time, there is the most massive flow of refugees caused by violence both in Azerbaijan and in Armenia.

By this time, armed formations had begun to form in both republics. At the beginning of May 1989, the Armenians living north of the NKAO began to create the first combat detachments. In the summer of the same year, Armenia introduced a blockade of the Nakhichevan ASSR. As a response, the Popular Front of Azerbaijan imposed an economic and transport blockade on Armenia. On December 1, the Armed Forces of the Armenian SSR and the National Council of Nagorno-Karabakh at a joint meeting adopted resolutions on the reunification of the NKAR with Armenia. Since the beginning of 1990, armed clashes began - mutual artillery shelling on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Helicopters and armored personnel carriers were used for the first time during the deportation of Armenians from the Shahumyan and Khanlar regions of Azerbaijan by the Azerbaijani forces. On January 15, the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces declared a state of emergency in the NKAR, in the regions of the Azerbaijan SSR bordering it, in the Goris region of the Armenian SSR, as well as on the line of the state border of the USSR on the territory of the Azerbaijan SSR. On January 20, internal troops were brought into Baku to prevent the seizure of power by the Popular Front of Azerbaijan. This led to clashes resulting in up to 140 deaths. Armenian fighters began to penetrate into the settlements with the Azerbaijani population, committing acts of violence. Combat clashes between militants and internal troops became more frequent. In turn, units of the Azerbaijani OMON undertook actions to invade Armenian villages, which led to the death of civilians. Azerbaijani helicopters began shelling Stepanakert.

On March 17, 1991, an all-Union referendum on the preservation of the USSR was held, which was supported by the leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR. At the same time, the Armenian leadership, which adopted on August 23, 1990, the declaration of independence of Armenia, in every possible way prevented the holding of a referendum on the territory of the republic. On April 30, the so-called operation "Ring" began, carried out by the forces of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs and the internal troops of the USSR. The purpose of the operation was declared to be the disarmament of illegal armed formations of Armenians. This operation, however, led to the death of a large number of civilians and the deportation of Armenians from 24 settlements on the territory of Azerbaijan. Before the collapse of the USSR, the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict escalated, the number of clashes grew, the parties used various types of weapons. From December 19 to 27, the internal troops of the USSR were withdrawn from the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. With the collapse of the USSR and the withdrawal of internal troops from the NKAO, the situation in the conflict zone became uncontrollable. A full-scale war began between Armenia and Azerbaijan for the withdrawal of the NKAO from the latter.

As a result of the division of the military property of the Soviet army, withdrawn from Transcaucasia, the largest part of the weapons went to Azerbaijan. On January 6, 1992, the declaration of independence of the NKAR was adopted. Full-scale hostilities began with the use of tanks, helicopters, artillery and aircraft. The combat units of the Armenian armed forces and the Azerbaijani OMON alternately attacked enemy villages, inflicting heavy losses and damaging civilian infrastructure. On March 21, a temporary week-long truce was concluded, after which, on March 28, the Azerbaijani side launched the largest offensive against Stepanakert since the beginning of the year. The attackers used the Grad system. However, the assault on the NKAO capital ended in vain, the Azerbaijani forces suffered heavy losses, the Armenian military took up their original positions and pushed the enemy back from Stepanakert.

In May, Armenian armed formations attacked Nakhichevan, an Azerbaijani exclave bordering Armenia, Turkey and Iran. From the side of Azerbaijan shelling of the territory of Armenia was carried out. On June 12, the summer offensive of the Azerbaijani troops began, which lasted until August 26. As a result of this offensive, the territories of the former Shahumyan and Mardakert regions of the NKAO came under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces for a short time. But it was a local success of the Azerbaijani forces. As a result of the Armenian counteroffensive, strategic heights in the Mardakert region were recaptured from the enemy, and the Azerbaijani offensive itself ran out of steam by mid-July. During the hostilities, weapons and specialists of the former USSR Armed Forces were used, mainly by the Azerbaijani side, in particular aviation, anti-aircraft installations. In September-October 1992, the Azerbaijani army made an unsuccessful attempt to block the Lachin corridor - a small section of the territory of Azerbaijan, located between Armenia and the NKAR, controlled by Armenian armed formations. On November 17, a full-scale offensive of the NKR army began on the Azerbaijani positions, which made a decisive turn in the war in favor of the Armenians. The Azerbaijani side refused to conduct offensive operations for a long time.

It is worth noting that from the very beginning of the military phase of the conflict, both sides began to accuse each other of using mercenaries in their ranks. In many cases, these accusations were confirmed. Afghan Mujahideen, Chechen mercenaries fought in the armed forces of Azerbaijan, including well-known field commanders Shamil Basayev, Khattab, Salman Raduyev. Turkish, Russian, Iranian and presumably American instructors also operated in Azerbaijan. Armenian volunteers who came from the Middle Eastern countries, in particular from Lebanon and Syria, fought on the side of Armenia. The forces of both sides also included former servicemen of the Soviet Army and mercenaries from the former Soviet republics. Both sides used weapons from the warehouses of the armed forces of the Soviet Army. In early 1992, Azerbaijan received a squadron of combat helicopters and attack aircraft. In May of the same year, the official transfer of weapons from the 4th Combined Arms Army to Azerbaijan began: tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery mounts, including Grad. By June 1, the Armenian side got tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and artillery also from the arsenal of the Soviet Army. The Azerbaijani side actively used aviation and artillery in the bombing of the settlements of the NKAR, the main purpose of which was the exodus of the Armenian population from the territory of the autonomy. As a result of raids and shelling of civilian objects, a large number of civilian casualties were noted. However, the Armenian air defense, initially rather weak, managed to withstand the air raids of the Azerbaijani aviation due to the increase in the number of anti-aircraft installations in the hands of the Armenians. By 1994, the first aircraft appeared in the armed forces of Armenia, in particular, thanks to Russia's assistance in the framework of military cooperation in the CIS.

After repulsing the Summer Offensive of the Azerbaijani troops, the Armenian side switched to active offensive operations. From March to September 1993, as a result of hostilities, Armenian troops managed to take a number of settlements in the NKAO controlled by Azerbaijani forces. In August-September, Russian envoy Vladimir Kazimirov secured a temporary ceasefire that was extended until November. At a meeting with Russian President B. Yeltsin, Azerbaijani President G. Aliyev announced his refusal to resolve the conflict by military means. Negotiations were held in Moscow between the Azerbaijani authorities and representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, in October 1993, Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire and attempted an offensive in the southwestern sector of the NKAO. This offensive was repulsed by the Armenians, who launched a counteroffensive in the southern sector of the front and by November 1 occupied a number of key regions, isolating parts of the Zangilan, Jabrayil and Kubatli regions from Azerbaijan. The Armenian army, thus, occupied the regions of Azerbaijan to the north and south of the NKAO directly.

In January-February, one of the bloodiest battles took place at the final stage of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict - the battle for the Omar Pass. This battle began with the offensive in January 1994 of the Azerbaijani forces on the northern sector of the front. It is worth noting that the fighting took place in the devastated territory, where there were no civilians left, as well as in severe weather conditions, in the highlands. In early February, the Azerbaijanis came close to the city of Kelbajar, occupied a year earlier by Armenian forces. However, the Azerbaijanis failed to build on the initial success. On February 12, the Armenian units launched a counteroffensive, and the Azerbaijani forces had to retreat through the Omar Pass to their original positions. The losses of Azerbaijanis in this battle amounted to 4 thousand people, Armenians 2 thousand. The Kelbajar region remained under the control of the NKR defense forces.

On April 14, 1994, on the initiative of Russia and with the direct participation of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Council of the CIS Heads of State adopted a statement clearly posing the issue of a ceasefire as an urgent need for a settlement in Karabakh.

In April-May, the Armenian forces, as a result of an offensive in the Ter-Ter direction, forced the Azerbaijani troops to retreat. On May 5, 1994, at the initiative of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan, the Federal Assembly and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, a meeting was held, following which representatives of the governments of Azerbaijan, Armenia and the NKR signed the Bishkek Protocol calling for a ceasefire on the night of May 8-9, 1994 of the year. On May 9, Vladimir Kazimirov, Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President of Russia in Nagorno-Karabakh, prepared an "Agreement on an indefinite ceasefire", which was signed on the same day in Baku by Azerbaijani Defense Minister M. Mammadov. On May 10 and 11, the "Agreement" was signed respectively by the Minister of Defense of Armenia S. Sargsyan and the Commander of the NKR Army S. Babayan. The active phase of the armed confrontation is over.

The conflict was "frozen", according to the agreements reached, the status quo was preserved following the results of hostilities. As a result of the war, the actual independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from Azerbaijan and its control over the southwestern part of Azerbaijan up to the border with Iran was proclaimed. This included the so-called "security zone": five regions adjacent to the NKR. At the same time, five Azerbaijani enclaves are also controlled by Armenia. On the other hand, Azerbaijan retained control over 15% of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to various estimates, the losses of the Armenian side are estimated at 5-6 thousand people killed, including among the civilian population. Azerbaijan lost between 4,000 and 7,000 people during the conflict, with the bulk of the losses falling on military units.

The Karabakh conflict has become one of the most bloody and large-scale in the region, yielding in terms of the amount of equipment used and human losses only to two Chechen wars. As a result of the hostilities, severe damage was inflicted on the infrastructure of the NKR and the adjacent regions of Azerbaijan, and caused an exodus of refugees, both from Azerbaijan and from Armenia. As a result of the war, the relationship between Azerbaijanis and Armenians was dealt a severe blow, and the atmosphere of hostility persists to this day. Diplomatic relations were never established between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the armed conflict was mothballed. As a result, isolated cases of combat clashes continue on the demarcation line of the warring parties at the present time.

Ivanovsky Sergey

Experts consider the strengthening of ethnic separatism to be one of the main factors negatively affecting the provision of regional and international security. A vivid example of this in the post-Soviet space for almost three decades has been the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Initially, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan was artificially provoked from outside, and the levers of pressure on the situation were in different hands, which needed confrontation first for the collapse of the USSR, and then for the Karabakh clan to come to power. In addition, the escalating conflict played into the hands of those major players who intended to strengthen their presence in the region. And, finally, the confrontation made it possible to put pressure on Baku to conclude more profitable oil contracts with it. According to the developed scenario, events began in the NKAO and in Yerevan - Azerbaijanis were fired from their jobs, and people were forced to leave for Azerbaijan. Then pogroms began in the Armenian quarters of Sumgayit and in Baku, which, by the way, was the most international city in Transcaucasia.

Political scientist Sergei Kurginyan said that when Armenians were brutally killed at first in Sumgayit, mocking them and performing certain ritual actions, it was not the Azerbaijanis who did it, but people from outside, hired representatives of international private structures. "We know these representatives by name, we know to which structures they belonged then, to which structures they belong now. These people killed Armenians, involved Azerbaijanis in this case, then killed Azerbaijanis, connected Armenians in this case. Then they pushed Armenians and Azerbaijanis , and this controlled tension began. We saw it all, we saw what was behind it, "the political scientist said.

According to Kurginyan, at that time, "demacratoid and liberoid myths, which had nothing to do with this, were already perceived as the ultimate truth, as something self-evident, as something absolutely correct, they already controlled consciousness. All these viruses had already bit into consciousness, and crowds fled in the right direction, towards their own end, towards their own misfortune, towards their own ultimate misfortune, in which they ended up later. Later, this tactic was used to foment other conflicts.

Mamikon Babayan, a columnist for Vestnik Kavkaza, is looking for ways to resolve the conflict.

The Karabakh war has become one of the bloodiest in the post-Soviet space. Peoples with close languages ​​and cultures, who lived side by side for centuries, were divided into two warring camps. More than 18,000 people have died over the long period of the conflict, and this figure is constantly growing.

The population on both sides lives in constant tension due to frequent skirmishes, and the danger of a resumption of large-scale war still remains. And it is not only about the war with the use of firearms. The conflict manifests itself in the section of the common historical and cultural heritage, including national music, architecture, literature, and cuisine.

25 years have passed since the signing of the truce in Karabakh, and every year it is more and more difficult for the Azerbaijani leadership to explain to their society why the richest country in the region continues to experience difficulties in resolving the issue of restoring territorial integrity. Today, a real information war is unfolding in the region. Although full-scale hostilities are no longer underway (with the exception of the escalation in April 2016), the war has become a mental phenomenon. Armenia and Karabakh live in tension, which is maintained by forces interested in destabilizing the region. The atmosphere of militarization is noticeable in the educational programs of school and preschool institutions in Armenia and the unrecognized "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic". The media do not stop talking about the threat they see in the statements of Azerbaijani politicians.

In Armenia, the Karabakh issue divides society into two camps: those who insist on accepting the de facto situation without any concessions, and those who agree on the need to make painful compromises that will help overcome the post-war crisis consequences, including the economic blockade Armenia. It is worth noting that the veterans of the Karabakh war, who are now in power in Yerevan and "NKR", do not consider the condition of surrendering the occupied regions. The ruling elites of the country understand that an attempt to transfer at least part of the disputed territories under the direct control of Baku will lead to rallies in the Armenian capital, and, perhaps, to civil confrontation in the country. Moreover, many veterans categorically refuse to return the "trophy" territories that they managed to win back in the 1990s.

Despite the obvious crisis in relations, both in Armenia and Azerbaijan there is a general awareness of the negative consequences of what is happening. Until 1987, peaceful coexistence was supported by interethnic marriages. There can be no talk of an "eternal war" between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, since throughout history in Karabakh itself there were no conditions due to which the Azerbaijani population could leave the NKAR (Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region).

Meanwhile, representatives of the Armenian diaspora, who were born and raised in Baku, do not pour negativity on their friends and acquaintances from Azerbaijan. "The people cannot be an enemy," - one can often hear from the lips of the older generation of Azerbaijanis when it comes to Karabakh.

Nevertheless, the Karabakh issue remains a lever of pressure on Armenia and Azerbaijan. The problem leaves an imprint on the mental perception of Armenians and Azerbaijanis who live outside the Transcaucasus, which, in turn, serves as a reason for the formation of a negative stereotype of the relationship between the two peoples. To put it simply, the Karabakh problem hinders life, hinders close attention to the problems of the energy security of the region, as well as the implementation of joint transport projects that are beneficial for the entire Transcaucasus. But not a single government dares to take the first step towards a settlement, fearing the end of its political career in case of concessions on the Karabakh issue.

In Baku's understanding, the beginning of the peace process is concrete steps to liberate part of the lands that are currently seized. Azerbaijan considers these territories occupied, referring to the resolutions of the UN Security Council during the Karabakh war of 1992-1993. In Armenia, the prospect of returning land is an extremely painful topic. This is related to the issue of the safety of the local civilian population. During the post-war years, the occupied territories turned into a "security belt", therefore the surrender of strategic heights and territories is unthinkable for Armenian field commanders. But it was after the seizure of territories that were not part of the NKAR that the most massive expulsion of the civilian population took place. Almost 45% of Azerbaijani refugees come from Agdam and Fuzuli regions, and Agdam itself remains a ghost town today.

Whose territory is this? It is impossible to answer this question directly, since archeology, architectural monuments give every reason to believe that both the Armenian and Turkic presence in the region dates back centuries. It is a common land and a common home for many nations, including those that are in conflict today. For the Azerbaijanis, Karabakh is a matter of national importance, since expulsion and expulsion were carried out. Karabakh for Armenians is the idea of ​​the people's struggle for the right to land. It is difficult to find a person in Karabakh who is ready to agree to the return of the adjacent territories, because this topic is linked to the issue of security. The inter-ethnic tension has not been eliminated in the region, overcoming which it will be possible to say that the Karabakh issue will be resolved soon.

https://www.site/2016-04-03/konflikt_v_nagornom_karabahe_chto_proishodit_kto_na_kogo_napal_i_pri_chem_tut_turciya

New war near Russia

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh: what is happening, who attacked whom, what does Turkey and Russia have to do with it

In Nagorno-Karabakh, there is a serious aggravation of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which could escalate into a full-fledged war. the site has collected the most important things that are known about what is happening at the moment.

What happened?

On the morning of April 2, it became known about a sharp aggravation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia mutually accused each other of shelling and offensive actions. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that Armenia violated the ceasefire 127 times, including the military used mortars and heavy machine guns. The Armenian authorities reported that, on the contrary, Azerbaijan violated the truce and is fighting with the use of tanks, artillery and aircraft.

The press service of the Defense Army of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic stated that it had shot down a Mi-24/35 helicopter of the Azerbaijani armed forces, but this information was denied in Baku. Armenia reported that Azerbaijan also lost a tank and a drone.

Later, Armenia reported 18 military personnel killed, and Azerbaijan about 12. In Nagorno-Karabakh, they also spoke about civilian casualties, including children killed as a result of shelling.

What is the current situation?

Clashes continue. Azerbaijan stated that on the night of April 2-3, border villages were shelled, although no one was killed. Baku claims that in the course of “response actions” several settlements and strategic heights in Nagorno-Karabakh were captured, but this information is denied in Yerevan, and it is still unclear who to believe. Both sides are talking about heavy losses of opponents. In Azerbaijan, for example, they are sure that they have already destroyed six enemy tanks, 15 artillery mounts and fortifications, and the enemy’s losses in killed and wounded amounted to 100 people. In Yerevan, this is called "disinformation."

In turn, the Artsakhpress Karabakh news agency reported that “in total, during the hostilities on the night of April 1-2 and throughout the day, the Azerbaijani army lost more than 200 servicemen. Only in the direction of Talysh, at least 30 soldiers of the Azerbaijani special forces were destroyed, in the direction of Martakert - 2 tanks, 2 drones, and in the northern direction - 1 helicopter. The Armenian Defense Ministry published a video of the downed Azerbaijani helicopter and photographs of the bodies of the crew.

As usual, both sides call each other "occupiers" and "terrorists", the most contradictory information is published, even photographs and videos should be treated with skepticism. Modern warfare is information warfare.

How did the world powers react?

The aggravation of the conflict excited all world powers, including Russia and the United States. At the official level, everyone is calling for an early settlement, a truce, a ceasefire, and so on.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of the first to express regret that the situation in the conflict zone had again slid into armed confrontation. According to presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the head of state calls for an immediate ceasefire in the region. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with colleagues from Armenia and Azerbaijan, also urging them to end the conflict.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French President Franus Hollande spoke in favor of a speedy settlement.

The Americans spoke in the same tone. “The United States condemns in the strongest terms the widespread violation of the truce along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh, which has reportedly resulted in casualties, including civilians,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said.

Following this, all participants in the so-called OSCE Minsk Group, which deals with conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, also called for stabilization of the situation. “We strongly condemn the use of force and deplore the senseless loss of life, including civilians,” the representatives of Russia, France and the United States said in a joint statement. The Minsk Group will meet in Vienna on April 5 to discuss the current situation in detail.

By Saturday evening, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also commented on the conflict. He also called for the truce to be respected.

And what about Russia, Turkey and the West?

At the same time, the Turkish authorities expressed support for only one side of the conflict - Azerbaijan. Turkey and Azerbaijan have close partnership relations, they are politically and ethnically close countries. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed condolences to Ilham Aliyev on the death of Azerbaijani soldiers. Telephone conversations between Aliyev and Erdogan were covered in the media of the two states. It was emphasized that Aliyev considers the incident "a provocation along the line of contact of the troops" and calls the actions of the Azerbaijani military "an adequate response."

Since relations between Turkey and Russia now leave much to be desired, some observers regard the aggravation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh as an attempt by Turkey (and, presumably, Western countries) to prevent Russia from strengthening in the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, and the Black Sea. For example, the Free Press website suggested that “the US and Britain have done everything possible to pit Russia and Turkey head-on. From this point of view, Karabakh strengthens the confrontation between Moscow and Ankara.”

Ministry of Defense of the NKR

“Azerbaijan has demonstrated lately that it remains a true ally of Turkey, and now it is trying to get dividends from this. Baku hopes to unfreeze the Karabakh conflict and solve the Karabakh problem in its favor under the political cover of Ankara,” Sergei Yermakov, deputy director of the RISS Tauride Information and Analytical Center, told this site.

At the same time, Leonid Gusev, a researcher at the MGIMO Institute for International Studies Analytical Center, said in an interview with the Ridus news agency that Azerbaijan and Armenia are unlikely to start a full-fledged war, and Turkey does not need another major conflict at all. “I don't think it can happen. Turkey today has big problems besides Azerbaijan and Karabakh. It is now much more important for her to somehow make amends with Russia than to enter into some kind of, even absentee, war with her. Moreover, in my opinion, there are some minimal positive shifts in relations between Turkey and Russia,” he said.

What is happening in Karabakh itself?

They are preparing for war. According to Sputnik Armenia, the administration of the republic forms lists of reservists and organizes the collection of volunteers. Hundreds of people, according to authorities, are sent to the areas of clashes. According to the agency, in the capital of the NKR, Stepanekert, it is still calm and even night cafes are working.

Why the conflict

Since 1988, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been unable to agree on the ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh, a vast area on the border of the two countries. In Soviet times, it was an autonomous region of the Azerbaijan SSR, but its main population is ethnic Armenians. In 1988, the region announced its withdrawal from the ASSR. In 1992-1994, during the military conflict, Azerbaijan completely lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh, and the area declared independence, calling itself the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).

Since then, the world community cannot talk about the fate of the NKR. Russia, the United States and France are taking part in the negotiations within the framework of the OSCE. Armenia stands for the independence of the NKR, while Azerbaijan seeks to return the territory to its state. Although the NKR is not formally recognized by the state, the Armenian community around the world does a lot to lobby for Armenia's interests in the conflict. For example, a number of American states adopted resolutions recognizing the independence of the NKR.

To say that some countries are unambiguously “for Armenia”, while others are “for Azerbaijan” (with the exception of Turkey), perhaps, is impossible. Russia has friendly relations with both countries.