The 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh: the regional dimension

Abstract

The war in Nagorno-Karabakh that erupted in the autumn of 2020 is significantly different from the first Karabakh war of the early 1990s. First, this time the war ended in the Armenian defeat. Second, the role of Turkey has been significantly increased. Third, a Russian peacekeeping contingent has appeared in the disputed territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia for the first time. Russia's role in the conflict settlement has reached a fundamentally new level, while the roles of the USA, France and other European countries, and of the OSCE Minsk Group have diminished essentially. The article discusses the regional dimension of the new war and defines the main principles underlying the approaches to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of those states that directly border Armenia and Azerbaijan.