More than 150 people were arrested in Armenia during protests against the transfer of border villages to Azerbaijan

What is the reason for the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan?

Armenia and Azerbaijan have one A long history of conflict. The dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh dates back to the early 20th century. Shortly after the Russian Revolution of 1917, they went to war over the region. Both neighboring countries were incorporated into the Soviet Union as Soviet republics. Stalin transferred Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia to Azerbaijan to please Türkiye, the Azerbaijanis’ main neighbor.

But already shortly before Fall of the Soviet UnionIn 1988, tensions escalated between the two neighboring countries. The focus was on Nagorno-Karabakh, where the Armenian population demanded independence. The Armenians demanded that the region be returned to Armenia as it was before.

With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, a new war broke out between the two newly independent states of Armenia and Azerbaijan. During the 3-year conflict, 30 thousand people died.

In 1994, neighboring countries signed this agreement truce. It is not like a peace treaty. Therefore, the conflict remains unresolved. Neither side likes the status quo: the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh wants to formalize their accession to Armenia, and Azerbaijan wants to regain control of the region.