Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Karabakh is settled

Significance

The region’s Armenian majority population has fled; displaced Azerbaijanis have returned to Karabakh and formerly occupied surrounding districts. Russia refused to support its Armenian ally in the face of Azerbaijan’s 2020 assault, which left Karabakh highly vulnerable. Geopolitical changes following the war in Ukraine enabled Azerbaijan to fulfil its objectives.

Impacts

• Baku retook the territory by force after 25 years of failed international diplomacy to solve the conflict.
• For all of this time, more than 1 million Azerbaijanis and Armenians were displaced from their homes.
• Azerbaijan and Turkey blockaded Armenia, benefitting transit through Georgia.
• Baku exploited its oil wealth, Turkish alliance and Russia’s isolation from the West to achieve its maximalist objectives.