Why are Armenia and Azerbaijan fighting?

 

YEREVAN: Two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, are involved in a decades-long territorial dispute that has flared up again with the strongest fighting in years on Sunday.

These are the key factors surrounding your conflict:

Nagorno Karabakh

At the heart of the confrontation between Yerevan and Baku is the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Soviet authorities merged the predominantly ethnic Armenian territory with Azerbaijan in 1921.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenian separatists seized it in a movement supported by Yerevan.

The war that followed left 30,000 dead and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

Despite a 1994 ceasefire brokered by Russia, the United States, and France, peace negotiations struggle to move forward and fighting breaks out frequently.

In the latest clashes on Sunday, Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists accused each other of initiating fighting that left both sides with casualties, including civilians.

It followed a blast along the border in July that claimed the lives of 17 soldiers on both sides.

In April 2016, some 110 people died in the most serious clashes in years.

Revolts and dynasty

Armenia has been rocked by political and economic instability since it gained independence from the former USSR.

The country's post-Soviet leadership cracked down on opposition to its government, was accused of falsifying voting results, and was largely indebted to Russia's interests.

In the spring of 2018, massive street protests brought current Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to power. Since then, he has cracked down on corruption and introduced popular judicial reforms.

Azerbaijan, on the Caspian Sea, has been under the authoritarian rule of a single-family since 1993.

Read more: Clash between Azerbaijan and Armenia: world leaders urge to stop violence after 24 dead

Heydar Aliyev, a former officer in the Soviet security services, the KGB, ruled the country with an iron fist until October 2003. He handed power over to his son, Ilham, weeks before his death.

Like his father, Ilham has annulled all opposition to his government and in 2017 appointed his wife, Mehriban, the country's first vice president.

Russia and Turkey

Turkey, with the ambition to be a regional power broker in the Caucasus, has supported the oil-rich, Turkish-speaking Azerbaijan.

Their alliance is fueled by mutual distrust of Armenia, and Ankara routinely issues strong statements in support of Baku's ambitions to take back Nagorno-Karabakh.

Yerevan harbors hostility towards Turkey over the massacres of approximately 1.5 million Armenians by Turkey under the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

More than 30 countries have recognized the killings as genocide, although Ankara fiercely disputes the term.

Russia, which maintains close ties with Armenia, is the main power broker in the region. She leads the military alliance of the Collective Security Treaty Organization of former Soviet countries that includes Armenia.

Yerevan depends on Russian military support and guarantees because its defense budget is overshadowed by Azerbaijan's spending on weapons.

Oil and diaspora

Azerbaijan has recently started tapping into oil revenues as part of an attempt to reshape its image in the West.

Baku has invested in massive sponsorship deals, including the Euro 2020 soccer championship, which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Baku was supposed to host matches this year and Azerbaijan has held Formula 1 Grand Prix races since 2016.

Azerbaijan has also tried to present itself to European countries as an alternative energy supplier to Russia.

Reality star Kim Kardashian, late singer Charles Aznavour, and pop star and actress Cher all have their roots in Armenia.

Some have been appointed unofficial ambassadors, like Kardashian, who has been outspoken on the issue of the Armenian genocide.