The complex feud between Azerbaijan and Armenia

The current tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia is not new. It is a historical enmity.

The two countries were at odds with each other in the 1988-1990 period and fought a fierce war from 1992-1994 over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Map of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Tensions between the two countries date back to at least the early 20th century. Immediately afterOctober RevolutionRussia, Azerbaijan and Armenia gained independence and jointly claimed sovereignty over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In addition to the war between the two countries, there was also fighting between the Azerbaijani army and Nagorno-Karabakh separatists.

However, since the two countries became member republics of the Russian SFSR (in 1920), these tensions have eased for a long time. Nagorno-Karabakh was granted autonomous status and was part of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.

Thus, with the formation of Soviet Russia and then the Soviet Union, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh temporarily subsided. It was the fact that Soviet Russia "divided" Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan that contributed to creating the foundation for Azerbaijan's sovereignty over this region.

Ethnic Armenians mourn the deaths of Armenian soldiers in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Photo: Getty Images.

The inclusion of Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan at that time was partly due to the influence of the Turkish factor and the calculations of the Soviet leaders at that time.

The conflicts that exist in Nagorno-Karabakh are ethnic conflicts (the majority of the population in this region is Armenian and they wish to merge with Armenia, escaping the domination of the Azerbaijanis), and religious conflicts (the state religion of Azerbaijan is Islam, while the most popular religion of the Armenians is Christianity).

As the Soviet Union weakened in the late 1980s and collapsed in 1991, ethnic and religious conflicts arose again. The autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence from Azerbaijan and sought to annex Armenian territory.

War broke out between Armenia-backed Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, resulting in 30,000 deaths, hundreds of thousands displaced, and Azerbaijan losing control of the region.

The self-proclaimed “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” has existed since then, even though it is not recognized by the international community (only a few “countries” in the same situation that are not internationally recognized recognize the independence of the “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic”).

Azerbaijan supporters in Berlin. Photo: Getty Images.

Under Russian mediation, a ceasefire agreement between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh was signed in May 1994 and a demilitarized zone was established between the opposing forces there.

Since then, sporadic military clashes have occurred between the two sides. The bloodiest clash between the two sides was in early April 2016 when “combined arms” military forces were mobilized, leaving at least dozens of soldiers dead and hundreds injured.

Between 1988 and 1994, violence against civilians by the two rival ethnic groups increased in Nagorno-Karabakh. There were widespread allegations of Armenian massacres of Azerbaijanis and vice versa. Many ethnic Armenians were expelled from Azerbaijan, and many ethnic Azerbaijanis were expelled from Armenia.

In Nagorno-Karabakh alone, two opposite processes occurred: Azerbaijaniization and Armenianization. Ultimately, the Armenianization trend prevailed. Initially, Armenians made up only 60% of the population, but later they became completely dominant, especially after their victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. In addition to the Azerbaijani expulsion, many Armenians from Armenia migrated here to live.

Although the United Nations currently recognizes Azerbaijan's sovereignty over the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region, according to some historical sources, most of the area belonged to the ancient Armenian kingdom (BC) and at various times was inhabited by a variety of peoples, including Azerbaijanis and Armenians.

According to VOV