Armenia – Azerbaijan | Another round of deadly clashes in the Caucasus

Defence Redefined

19/11/2021

Two military positions, 12 prisoners and 15 dead on the part of Armenia and at least 2 injured on the part of Azerbaijan are the aftermaths of the recent escalating tension. Armenia says Azerbaijan has suffered heavy losses in armored vehicles and manpower, a fact that has not yet been confirmed by Baku.

During this period, fierce clashes were taking place on the eastern border with the use of heavy weapons, armored vehicles, and firearms of different calibers, with both sides blaming each other for triggering the new round of tension.

For Baku, the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh did not end with the 2020 war, as long as Armenia is so weak. Thus, in the midst of the most serious escalation since last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia turned to Russia for military assistance in defending its territorial integrity against Azerbaijan on the basis of the “Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance” treaty that Armenia signed with Russia on August 29, 1997.

The Armenian Ministry of Defence announced shortly afterward that it had agreed to Russia’s “mediating” role in a ceasefire with Azerbaijan.

“Through the mediation of the Russian side, an agreement was reached which provided for the end of fire exchange on the eastern border of Armenia as of 18.30 in the afternoon,” said the statement from the Armenian Defence Ministry. “The situation has relatively stabilized,” it was stated, adding that an Armenian soldier was killed in the clashes that day.

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The incident is inextricably linked to the final demarcation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Baku sees the imbalance of forces overwhelmingly in its favor and is trying to impose its own terms on mapping. Yerevan considers that the Azeri moves are essentially aimed at cutting off Armenia from the “Artsakh”.

Thus, Azerbaijan had previously blocked some key Armenian highways to make sure it could control the roads in the region. Simultaneously, the Azeri forces want to block trucks from Iran supplying the Armenian regions of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azeri President Aliyev has not forgotten the challenges he witnessed from Tehran in response to the strengthening of its relations with Israel and its equipment. 

In Yerevan, they are trying to mobilize international public opinion about the challenges facing the Azeri regime. Armenia’s economic weakness does not allow it to cope with military competition with Azerbaijan.

On the other hand, in Baku they consider that time is running out in their favor, while they have military superiority. Contacts with their close ally, Turkey, are growing, and the goal of gaining a land connection with it via a corridor through Armenian territory is still aimed at.

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Recent events reflect the precarious balance in the Caucasus, almost a year after the end of the six-week bloody conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh, where more than 6,500 people were killed.

The conflict ended with the heavy defeat of Armenia, the signing of a Russian-mediated ceasefire, and the concession of important territories to Azerbaijan, which formed a security zone around the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh. 

With information from: cnn.gr, defenceredefined.com.cy

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