A cathedral in Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh was damaged in fighting on October 8. Armenia has blamed Azerbaijan, which denies targeting any religious sites. Districts across Azerbaijan have also come under attack from the Armenian side. The violent conflict between the two sides, which resulted in a war in the 1990s, flared up
In recent days, while we are all grasping at any sign of hope for the region, it is remarkable to see that there have been desperate calls for peace from Armenians and Azerbaijanis around the world. But beyond the undisputedly symbolic and signaling value of such calls lies a challenge for peacebuilding work, as “peace” is neither ceasefire, appeasement, nor absence of war
Residents of the village of Tazakend in Azerbaijan cleaned up the rubble after shelling by Armenian forces damaged businesses and homes. There were reportedly some 50 shell strikes overnight on October 6 after a lull in the fighting the previous day
To be sure, the scale of the fighting and Turkey’s support have given Baku greater confidence to resist what it has long seen as Moscow’s self-serving conflict management. But what else lies behind Russia’s low-profile response?
Azerbaijani strikes on Stepanakert began on October 2. Targets reportedly included electricity infrastructure, which resulted in the city losing power on October 3. According to journalists reporting from the city the strikes have continued since then
Pashinyan appeared to be a fresh face who could give a new impetus to the long-stalled peace negotiations between the two sides. But as time went on, he adopted the same uncompromising positions as his predecessors and on occasion rhetorically went even further, most controversially saying at a speech in Karabakh that “Karabakh is Armenia – period.”
The most recent plan to redevelop the area had appeared to lie dormant since a new government came into power on the back of the 2018 “Velvet Revolution.” But in June, a historic building in the neighborhood was torn down, signaling the resumption of the project
The seizures come as Minasyan has been taking a higher-profile role as a government critic-in-exile. In April he was charged with money laundering, among other crimes, and has refused to come to Armenia to face the charges. (He lives abroad – it is not clear where – and was formerly Armenia’s ambassador to the Vatican.)
Former President Serzh Sargsyan announced in 2017 a plan to increase the population to 4 million by 2040 by increasing the birthrate and discouraging emigration. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, after taking over the next year, one-upped Sargsyan by promising to boost the population to 5 million by 2050
Since the new government took over, “fake news” has become a political tool in the hands of former regime loyalists, argued Arman Babajanyan, an independent member of parliament