The mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh province, the former Soviet state of Armenia and Azerbaijan, has been at the center of the conflict for decades. This area was occupied by the area Armenia decades ago. The region was recognized as part of Azerbaijan. The province has been a dispute since the time of the Genocide of the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire.
The war between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not a new chapter for the world, it has been going on for decades. The roots of the fight are religion, geography, and politics. And it is affecting geopolitics as well! This region of Nagorno-Karabakh is historically a part of Armenia's heritage and is connected with ethnicity. The stronghold of Shusha, sits in the middle of Nagorno-Karabakh, making things more complicated because it is the middle region of Azerbaijan-Armenia.
When 1920 when after the Soviets captured the territories of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh was declared a semi-autonomous region in the Republic of Azerbaijan it was totally against Armenia. Till 1980 there was no conflict between the region.
In 1988 a referendum was held in the Nagorno-Karabakh region by a group of the Armenian population. But then after 1992 when the USSR failed and disintegrated, the conflict started in full swing.
A 1994 ceasefire agreement by Russia helped and gave Azerbaijan de facto control of occupied territories and Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenia. Though a large number of soldiers and civilians died in the area after the 1994 ceasefire agreement.
All the efforts of America, France, and Russia for peace in this region are failing.
In 2020, the conflict raised and came to the door of war and lasted for 45 days. It ended with the surrender of Armenia. After the victory in this war, Azerbaijan increased its military expenditure by $2.6 million in 2022 as compared to Armenia.
The region of Nagorno-Karabakh is the geopolitical center of the region adjacent to Russia, Turkey, and others. Russia is a mutual friend of both
Armenia and Azerbaijan but all its attempts to resolve the disputes have always failed.
So, the roots of history were deep and rising skirmishes are saying that the countries are in no mood to give up. Signs are saying that this will continue.
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