Nagorno-Karabakh

Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan

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Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous region within Azerbaijan, known for its long-standing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over its sovereignty.

Historically, the region was part of Persia before becoming part of the Russian Empire through the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813. During the Soviet era, Nagorno-Karabakh was established as an autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, despite its majority Armenian population. Tensions escalated in the late 1980s as ethnic Armenians demanded unification with Armenia, leading to violent clashes and a full-scale war in the early 1990s.

Armenians declared independence, forming the Republic of Artsakh, but international recognition remained elusive, and most of Nagorno-Karabakh was controlled by Armenian-backed forces. The conflict resulted in thousands of casualties and hundreds of thousands of refugees. A ceasefire was brokered in 1994, but sporadic fighting continued, culminating in a significant escalation in 2020 when Azerbaijan regained control of parts of the region through military action.

As of 2023, following a large-scale Azerbaijani military offensive and a subsequent peace agreement brokered by Russia and Turkey, the region's status remains complex, with Azerbaijan asserting sovereignty while the Armenian population has largely left. The history of Nagorno-Karabakh remains a core issue in Azerbaijan-Armenia relations, rooted in ethnic, territorial, and historical disputes that continue to affect regional stability.