In what was termed a ‘counterterrorism operation’ by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence, fighting again resumed with ethnic Armenian forces entrenched in the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO). This followed earlier reports of seven deaths caused by landmines allegedly laid by Armenian sabotage groups on territory under Baku’s control. The Azerbaijani MoD said it responded by launching surgical strikes against military targets within Karabakh.

Ever since the November 2020 trilateral ceasefire statement, Azerbaijan has accused Karabakh of hosting forces from the Republic of Armenia, a claim Yerevan denies. Nonetheless, the military action followed clear signs that parallel peace processes could be close to collapse, with issues such as the disarming and transformation of the Karabakh military still remaining unresolved. Further, attempts to organize talks between representatives of the Karabakh Armenians and Baku continue to falter.

 

Though military action had been expected, it nonetheless came as a surprise to many, given recent developments that had offered at least a glimmer of hope.

 

Following the 12 September delivery of humanitarian assistance by the Russian Red Cross Society via Aghdam into territory temporarily under the control of the Russian peacekeeping contingent inhabited mainly by ethnic Armenians, another two trucks delivered more just five days later. This time, however, the vehicles were those from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and passed simultaneously via both the Lachin and Aghdam roads.

 

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© Official Photo

On 12 September, after nearly months of not receiving any, humanitarian assistance finally arrived in Karabakh, albeit not without controversy. Having crossed the border between Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation three days earlier, it was meant to travel from Samur to Askeran via Baku, Barda, and Aghdam. However, it remained delayed for days as some wondered whether it would ever arrive at all.

But arrive it did, carrying humanitarian assistance comprising food items, medicines, hygienic goods, and blankets in a single truck sent by the Russian Red Cross Society. Ethnic Armenians in Askeran on the Line of Contact (LoC) between that part of Karabakh under the control of Russian peacekeepers and Azerbaijan proper had initially vowed not to let it pass but eventually acquiesced.

 

However, two trucks of the Azerbaijan Red Crescent remain stuck in limbo. On the Armenian side of the border with Azerbaijan, at least 21 trucks sent by Yerevan and two from France also remain parked. However, Baku’s approval for receiving them was not requested as is normal for humanitarian assistance.

 

Nonetheless, the agreement on delivering humanitarian assistance sent from Russia came the same day as Samvel Shahramanyan was s/elected as de facto president of the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) following Arayik Harutyunyan’s resignation on 1 September. The day after the eventual arrival of the Red Cross Society truck, the European Union effectively welcomed the move even despite being at loggerheads with Russia over Ukraine.

 

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Arayik Harutyunyan © Official Photo

Arayik Harutyunyan, the de facto leader of what remains of the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), has resigned. Though many were skeptical, given similar pronouncements in recent months, Harutyunyan, who held the otherwise unrecognized position of ‘president’ of the mainly ethnic-Armenian breakaway region, was true to his word this time. He left office on 1 September, a day after announcing his intention to do so in a post made on Facebook.

De facto ‘State Minister’ Gurgen Nersisyan and his advisor, Artak Beglaryan, also left their positions while ‘Security Council Secretary’ Samvel Shahramanyan replaced Nersisyan. The move is seen as a culmination of months of rumoured internal power struggle ongoing since Nersisyan’s predecessor, Russian-Armenian billionaire Ruben Vardanyan, was appointed to the position of de facto State Minister in November last year.

 

Vardanyan was dismissed in February. Despite that departure, however, it was Vardanyan’s appointment as de facto State Minister that arguably led to the impasse on the Lachin highway that began on 12 December last year. It is this that remains partially responsible for the political crisis in Karabakh today, although others believe that Baku’s current focus on Lachin is also a direct result of the failure of Armenia and Azerbaijan to negotiate the latter’s access to the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan.With Lachin and the route to Nakhchivan mentioned in the 2020 trilateral ceasefire statement, Baku had urged reciprocity in dealing with both. That remains a moot point, however, as there is no indication of whether the “Zangezur Corridor” will be launched anytime soon. As a result, access to Lachin remains limited.

 

In recent months, this situation has deteriorated further, with commercial goods and humanitarian assistance unable to enter Karabakh from Armenia, leading to a much-publicized limited availability of imported goods and concerns over the well-being of the population. The 15 June shooting from the Armenia side on Azerbaijani border guards stationed on the Hakari bridge saw Baku’s checkpoint on the highway almost totally closed down.

 

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