Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Cyprus International University (CIU) Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Political Science and International Relations Chair, Assist. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Direkli, gave information about the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Direkli explained, “Karabakh, where Armenians and Turkish Azerbaijanis lived for centuries, was a part of the Russian empire in the 19th century. The landlocked Nagorno-Karabakh is an unsolved issue between Azerbaijan and the Armenian ethnicity supported by Armenia.

Direkli reminded that, towards the end of the Soviet rule, Azerbaijani troops and Armenian separatists started to clash, "When the ceasefire was signed in 1994, the area in question remained in the hands of the Armenians and the negotiations have not been successful in establishing a permanent peace agreement so far."

Assist. Prof. Dr. Direkli noted that after the end of the First World War and the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, as part of the region and rule policies in the region, the Soviet rulers established the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region with an ethnic Armenian population within the Soviet Union. He also said that as Soviet control loosened towards the end of the 1980s, the problem increased when the parliament of the region voted to join Armenia.

Stating that around 25 thousand people were estimated to have lost their lives in the conflicts, Direkli said, “With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991, Karabakh declared itself as an independent republic, but their de facto status was not recognized by any country. Although Armenia did not officially recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, they became their financial and military supporter. In order to protect Nagorno-Karabakh, by occupying a part of the Azeri land from the west and creating a safe zone, it achieved military superiority thanks to this buffer zone.

“OSCE, mediated for the peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, but no result was achieved.”
Direkli stated, “The Minsk Group, within the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), was established in 1992 to promote the peaceful resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Despite making many attempts in the past years, the group could not achieve concrete results towards the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Russia, France and the USA co-chairs the Minsk Group.

Pointing out that it is impossible for Armenia to attack Azerbaijani territories without obtaining permission from Russia in the result analysis, Direkli stated; “It is obvious to whom the conflicts benefit. Russia is attempting to draw maps in the Caucasus, which it sees as its backyard. These events have an absolute relationship with the US policy of containing Russia in the Black Sea.”