Local and Regional outcomes of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war

Abstract

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the main international fallout of the former Soviet Union. With the exception of the warring parties - Armenia and Azerbaijan - Turkey, Russia and Iran were indirectly involved in the conflict. Beyond them, strong international acts such as the United States and France were also parts of negotiations, although their objectivity towards warring parties was questionable, especially in Baku. It was the stalemate in the negotiations that created the militaristic environment and the preparation for a new large-scale conflict. The Second Karabakh War of 2020 completely changed the reality on the ground. Azerbaijan, with the help of Turkish weapons, not only managed to retake six of the seven regions around Karabakh but also occupied the city of Shusha, which was perceived to be the cultural centre of Karabakh. However, Russia also benefited from the military-political consequences, as it legally managed to deploy military forces not only in Armenia but directly in Azerbaijan as well. All this makes the situation on the ground quite complex. The paper discusses the post-war political and military situation in Karabakh and the region.