His conclusion is that today’s “anti-terrorist operation” is a way for Azerbaijan to use its military superiority to force the Armenian population in the enclave into submission.
– They are faced with a situation of either resisting, which is difficult, or being subject to ethnic cleansing.
Armenia has historically been close allies with Russia, but according to Rasmus Canbäck, the relationship has deteriorated drastically recently. Not least because Armenia believes that Russia has not lived up to its promises to guarantee the safety of the population of Nagorno Karabakh after the war in 2020.
At the same time, Russia has approached Azerbaijan, not least as an intermediary to round off the sanctions and be able to export gas to Europe.
Azerbaijan: The conflict ended
Azerbaijan sees the conflict as over and wants to disarm the area. A growing dissatisfaction has built up, according to Jakob Hedenskog at the Center for Eastern European Studies at the Foreign Policy Institute.
– It is believed that Armenia is dragging its feet in the negotiations, and that the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh are Azeri citizens and already have the same rights and obligations as everyone else. But Azerbaijan is a very authoritarian state and there are no rights to autonomy, local self-government or really any form of democracy.
What is the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh about? Watch a 60-second recap in the video below.