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HART Nagorno-Karabakh Briefing: August-October 2014

5 November 2014

Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-majority, de facto independent, enclave in the south Caucasus, has long been subject of dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, leading to a deadly war in the early 1990s, including the attempted ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population, and to continuing hostilities ever since. The OSCE Minsk group, an independent group of mediator countries, has been fostering dialogue between the warring parties in hopes they reach a lasting peace agreement since 1992 and continues its efforts following the escalation or armed violence along the line of contact over the summer.

Agnes Magyar has prepared a briefing for HART, summarising recent developments in the region. These include:

  • Hostile rhetoric on both sides, such as the more than 60 messages posted on twitter on the 7th of August by Azeri President Aliyev condemning the Armenians as “barbarians and vandals”; shifting political relations among international actors, their pre-occupation with other international issues or having direct interests in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict undermine effective negotiations.
  • Increased armed incidents this summer and continuing hostilities ever since meant the warring parties suffered their worst combat fatalities in over a decade.
  • In October Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents resumed dialogue in Paris in the presence of the Minsk Group co-chairs, reinforcing their commitment to finding a peaceful way to settle the conflict.
  • Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union is seen both as an opportunity for a peaceful resolution and as a risk for Nagorno-Karabakh to become even more vulnerable to security and economic threats.

Download the full briefing below.

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