II. The interstate armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Chapter:

5. Armed conflict and peace processes in Europe

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2021

Author(s):

Ian Davis

The interstate conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan centres on the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh (see figure 5.1).¹ It was the first secessionist conflict to erupt in the former Soviet Union in 1988 and then became a confrontation between the two sovereign states of Armenia and Azerbaijan when they declared independence in 1991. An estimated 1 million people were displaced by the 1988–94 Nagorno-Karabakh War, and about 30 000 were killed.² Following the Russian-brokered 1994 ceasefire, Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other districts (occupied by Armenia after the fighting as a security buffer) remained formally part of Azerbaijan but were de facto controlled by separatist ethnic Armenians whose economy, society and polity were deeply tied to Armenia. The self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (referred to as the Republic of Artsakh by Armenia) is not recognized by any United Nations member state, including Armenia.