This interview with Rusif Huseynov, Co-founder and Director of the Topchubashov Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan, was held on 10 February 2023. In it, Huseynov shares his opinion and commentary on the view from Baku on apparently dashed hopes for a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the impasse on the Lachin Corridor, Ruben Vardanyan, and the state of Track II diplomacy in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
This interview with Kamal Makili-Aliyev, an Associate Professor of International Law and Human Rights at Malmö University in Sweden and author of “Contested Territories and International Law: A Comparative Study of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and the Aland Islands Precedent,” was held on 17 February 2022.
This interview with Ahmad Alili, Director of the Baku-based Caucasus Policy Analysis Center (CPAC) was held on 28 October 2021.
This interview with Richard Giragosian, Director of the Yerevan-based Regional Studies Center (RSC) was held on 27 October 2021.
This interview with Arnold Alahverdian, one of the co-founders of Bright Garden Voices, an online platform to engage ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijanis living outside of the South Caucasus, was recorded on 1 March 2021.
This interview with Dr. Arman Grigoryan, an Associate Professor at Lehigh University in the United States, was held on 19 February 2021. An Armenian citizen, his focus is on ethnic conflict and nationalism.
This interview with Azerbaijani activist and journalist Nigar Fatali was recorded on 12 November 2020, just days after the 9-point ceasefire agreement.
This interview with Azerbaijani photographer and journalist Jahangir Youssif was recorded on 2 November 2020, a week before the 9-point ceasefire agreement.
KARABAKH BLOG POSTS
Online Communication in Conflict Zones: A Case Study from the South Caucasus
More than 18 years have passed since a 1994 ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan put the conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh on hold, but a last- ing peace remains elusive. The war fought in the early 1990s left over 25,000 dead and forced
a million to flee their homes, leaving Armenian-backed forces in control of just over 16 per cent of Azerbaijan. But despite often being referred to as a “frozen conflict,” skirmishes on the Line
of Contact (LOC) separating the two sides have claimed over 3,000 lives since the armistice. So concerning is the situation that the International Crisis Group (ICG) last year warned of the risk of a new “accidental war” breaking out.
Offside: Football in Exile — The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict Viewed Through Soccer
With 2012 having dashed many hopes for peace in the South Caucasus, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh remains one of the most intractable in the region. Over 20,000 people lost their lives in the war waged in the early 1990s and a million were forced to flee their homes. Around 3,000 have been killed in cross-border skirmishes and sniper incidents since a 1994 ceasefire effectively put the larger war on hold, but organizations such as the International Crisis Group (ICG) warn that the danger of an ‘accidental war’ breaking out increases with each passing year.
Georgi Vanyan: The Tekali Process Continues
Recent clashes on the Line of Contact (LOC) separating Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have again raised concerns over the fragility of the 1994 ceasefire agreement. That should have put fighting over the disputed territory of Karabakh on hold, but with a final peace deal still elusive, thousands have been killed in cross-border skirmishes in the eighteen years since. At least three Armenian and five Azerbaijani soldiers died in the latest major skirmishes on the LOC, which reportedly included incursions into Armenia proper, while both sides blamed the other for the violence.
Turkey’s South Caucasus Agenda
Strategically situated as a major conduit for vital energy resources, the South Caucasus has long been an area for competing regional and geopolitical interests. But while competition between Russia and the United States has preoccupied many analysts since 1991 when the three countries making up the region declared their independence from the former Soviet Union, some consider that Turkey could also play an important role in the Caucasus. Despite its well-known problems with Armenia, this is particularly true since tensions between Russia and Georgia culminated in the August 2008 war.
Мысли против стереотипов миротворческой риторики в азербайджано-армянских встречах
Моя статья продиктована многолетним опытом участия в миротворческих встречах. В 2000 году я в составе азербайджанской группы встретился в Упсале с армянскими коллегами в семинаре, организованным факультетом Университета Упсалы по мирному разрешению конфликтов. В нем, помнится, тон обсуждений был таков: армянская сторона стремилась доказать, что нам надо исходить из существующей ситуации и согласиться с отделением Нагорного Карабаха. Правда, все это было представлено в дружелюбном тоне и оснащено миротворческими и гуманистическими призывами об отвратительности войны и истребления людей. Только один человек из Нагорного Карабаха, живущего в Армении внес в этот общий тон некоторые милитаристские нюансы, намекая, что армия Нагорного Карабаха ой как сильна, так сильна что даже способна дойти до Анкары.
Anomalous Autonomy As A Solution To The Mountainous Karabakh Conflict
In the present phase of the conflict over Mountainous Karabakh, the deadlock in the peace process is due to symbolism. There is no solution through standard methods: the Armenians are not ready to give away the symbol of an independent republic, while the Azeris refuse the alteration of their borders. Similar situations exist in the conflicts between Chechnya and Russia, and between Abkhazia and Georgia. In order to resolve this deadlock, we are proposing a new autonomy model (‘nomy’ is law in Greek, ‘autonomy’ means ‘ruling oneself according to one’s own laws’).
KARABAKH-RELATED ARTICLES
ARMENIA–AZERBAIJAN: THE RISKS FOR GEORGIA
Two sizeable communities of Armenians and Azeris live – mostly separate – in Georgia. The current conflict has exacerbated the spirits of the two minorities, particularly on social media, arousing the concern of analysts
Published by Osservatorio Balcani e Caucasus, October 2020
UNLIKELY NEIGHBOURS: CO-INHABITED VILLAGES IN GEORGIA
Published by Stratfor, May 2017
A NARRATIVE OF PEACE: ETHNIC ARMENIAN-AZERI COEXISTENCE IN GEORGIA
Walking past Tbilisi’s Meidan Square towards Heydar Aliyev Park, it’s difficult not to notice dozens of tourists posing in front of a floral fixture that has become a main attraction for visitors to the city. “Tbilisi Loves You,” it reads.
Published by Meydan TV, May 2017
CULTURE THAT UNITES RATHER THAN DIVIDES
An Azeri teahouse, and naturally Azerbaijani can be heard spoken inside. A dozen men, identical in appearance, sit at tables, chain smoking and drinking cups of çay (tea). “Salam,” we say, before approaching the waitress. The owners of another Azeri teahouse, ironically run by ethnic Armenians just around the corner, directed us here, saying that the waitress too is Armenian. She is, even though the teahouse is owned by an ethnic Azeri. We take our seats at a table with the intention of once again exploring the reality of peaceful coexistence in at least one part of the South Caucasus.
Published 2010
MUSICAL DIALECTS OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS
The two farmers standing barefoot outside their vegetable enclosure close to Georgia’s border with Dagestan meant well, but the wine they offered tasted like vinegar. Likely to put a grimace on the face of any foreign visitor, it did at least become more bearable with each additional glass. For the Sayat Nova Project, a team of two Americans and one Gibraltarian, the homemade beverage was an interlude to work documenting the diverse musical traditions of the South Caucasus.
LACHIN: THE EMPTYING LANDS
The local residents of Suarassy seem oblivious to the hidden danger as they herd cattle down a road known to have been mined during the Armenian-Azerbaijani war of the early Nineties. Despite the mangled military lorry rusting in a ditch to one side, none of their cows have so far detonated seven anti-tank mines still believed to be buried underneath, so they reckon the road is safe.
Published by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) 2006
LACHIN CONFRONTS A DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS
The flag of the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh flies over the local administrative buildings in the center of Lachin, the strategic lynchpin connecting the disputed territory with the Republic of Armenia. The town and surrounding area, regarded as vital for Karabakh’s security, appear to be experiencing an unsettling demographic shift.
Published by Eurasianet 2006
LACHIN: LIFE IN NO MAN’S LAND
Anyone taking the road from Goris to Stepanakert has passed through Lachin, the strategic main artery in the lifeline between Armenia and the self-declared Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. Few actually visit the town now of course, perhaps unsurprisingly given the destruction evident throughout. The only interest for many passing through is that Lachin lies not in Karabakh, but within what the international community considers sovereign Azerbaijani territory.
Published by Transitions Online 2001
CLEARING THE KILLING FIELDS
A few kilometers from the border of the officially unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, a shepherd sits with his grazing cattle in the lush pastures of Armenian-controlled Azerbaijan. The scene could grace the front of any postcard from the scenic Caucasus.
The twisted carcasses of rusting vehicles along the roadside tell a different story, though. The shepherd is sitting in a minefield.
Published 2004
CONFLICT VOICES e-BOOKS
KARABAKH-RELATED PHOTO GALLERIES
LACHIN: LIFE IN NO MAN’S LAND
Documenting the lives of Armenian settlers in the town of Lachin, the crucial artery connecting Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh, in the early 2000s.
LANDMINES AND UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE
Following the first Karabakh war, the work of the HALO Trust inc learning the disputed territory of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO).
REFUGEES IN ARMENIA
Refugees and Internally Displaces Persons (IDPs) in Armenia.