Political status of Nagorno-Karabakh

The conflict soon escalated into ethnic cleansing and open warfare in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, as a result of which the region came under the control of an Armenia-allied de facto state, the Republic of Artsakh.

[3][4] Negotiations took place sporadically over the following decades, during which a ceasefire generally prevailed between Armenia/Artsakh and Azerbaijan (albeit without peacekeeping forces).

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council, OSCE Minsk Group, and other bodies made various statements and proposed dialogue initiatives, none of which were successful.

In the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, Azerbaijani forces, backed by Turkey, took control of the southern half of the region, including Shusha and Hadrut.

Armenia was forced to concede additional territories to preserve Stepanakert and the northern half of the Republic of Artsakh under local Armenian control, protected by Russian peacekeepers.

In the wake of a tightened blockade by Azerbaijan, in which the Lachin Corridor was closed, and subsequent Azerbaijani offensive on 19 September 2023, the Artsakh government surrendered and voted to disband itself, effective 1 January 2024,[5] although it later annulled this decree in exile for being unconstitutional.

"[16] According to Human Rights Watch, "from the beginning of the Karabakh conflict, Armenia provided aid, weapons, and volunteers.

The Republic of Armenia began sending conscripts and regular Army and Interior Ministry troops to fight in Karabakh.

"[31][32] According to a report prepared by British parliamentarian and rapporteur David Atkinson, presented to Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), "the borders of Azerbaijan were internationally recognised at the time of the country being recognised as independent state in 1991," and "the territory of Azerbaijan included the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Recalling the Resolutions 822, 853, 874, and 884 (all 1993) of the UN Security Council, PACE urged "the parties concerned to comply with them, in particular by refraining from any armed hostilities and by withdrawing military forces from any occupied territories."

They recalled that following the 1991–1994 armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a substantial part of the region's population was forced to flee their homes and are still living as displaced persons in those countries or as refugees abroad.

[44] A background paper prepared by the Directorate General of Political Affairs of the Council of Europe for the seminar "Youth and Conflict Resolution" (Strasbourg, 31 March – 2 April 2003) states, "The Armenian side maintains that the N-K independence referendum was conducted in accordance with the USSR law on the 'Procedure for Solving Issues of Secession of a Soviet Republic from the USSR' of 3 April 1990.

The Chairman of the CSCE Minsk Conference mentioned that "the terms 'party to the conflict' and 'leadership of Nagorny Karabakh' do not imply recognition of any diplomatic or political status under domestic or international law".

[51] Meanwhile, on 10 June 2007 after US-Azerbaijani security consultations in Washington D.C., with Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov, Deputy Assistant Secretary of US Department of State, US Co-Chairman of OSCE Minsk group Matthew Bryza in a joint press conference announced: "In the circles of international law there is no universal formula for the supremacy of territorial integrity over the right of self-determination of people.

"[52] German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in March 2023 that competing principles of territorial integrity and self-determination are "equally applicable" in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the Armenian-Azerbaijan border crisis.

At the same time, if the war goes on and there is no chance for the negotiations to resume, Armenia will most probably will have no choice but to recognize [Artsakh]...We believe that there is no military solution to this problem.

[64] According to "responsibility to protect" (R2P), member states of the United Nations are obliged to intervene in cases of serious human rights issues.

[68][14][69] Azerbaijani officials deny that the conflict persists, claiming that the entity of Nagorno-Karabakh no longer exists and have threatened military action if the Artsakh government does not disband.

[81][82] The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Reporters Without Borders have called on Azerbaijan to allow international organizations, including United Nations agencies, to access the region.

[86] The resolution "calls on the parties to intensify their peace talk efforts for the purpose of a settlement in the coming months, to show a more constructive attitude and to abandon preferences to perpetuate the status quo created by force and with no international legitimacy, creating in this way instability and prolonging the suffering of the war-affected populations; condemns the idea of a military solution and the heavy consequences of military force already used, and calls on both parties to avoid any further breaches of the 1994 ceasefire".

The resolution also calls for withdrawal of Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan, accompanied by deployment of international forces to be organised with respect of the UN Charter in order to provide the necessary security guarantees in a period of transition, which will ensure the security of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh and allow the displaced persons to return to their homes and further conflicts caused by homelessness to be prevented; and states that the EU believes that the position according to which Nagorno-Karabakh includes all occupied Azerbaijani lands surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh should rapidly be abandoned.

[88] This same document also states that "Parliament fully subscribes to the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the right to self-determination of nations;"[89] On 15 November 2017, the European Parliament adopted a resolution "reaffirming its support to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs' efforts to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and to their 2009 Basic Principles, which include territorial integrity, self-determination and the non-use of force".

[90] On 26 June 2010, the presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group's Co-Chair countries, France, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America made a joint statement, reaffirming their "commitment to support the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they finalize the Basic Principles for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict".

[92][93][94][95] According to the principle of remedial secession, a group of people can unilaterally secede in order to protect themselves from the parent state's oppressive regime, a principal enacted by Kosovo to support its independence from Serbia.

Various politicians and political analysts have argued that the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh may also be eligible for enacting remedial secession due to the extreme anti-Armenianism within Azerbaijan.

[128][129] Between 17 and 21 December 2020, the commune of Issy-les-Moulineaux, the department of Hauts-de-Seine, and the cities of Sarcelles, Clamart, and Montpellier adopted resolutions calling for the recognition of Artsakh.

[135] The City Hall of Sayaxché, Guatemala has officially recognized the right to self-determination of the Armenians of Artsakh and is supporting the creation of a free and sovereign state.

[215][216][217][218][219][220][221] Many international observers also do not consider Azerbaijan's claim that Artsakh Armenians can live safely under Aliyev’s regime to be credible.

[222][223][224][225] Caucasus expert, Laurence Broers wrote "the blockade [of Nagorno-Karabakh] renders irrelevant any talk of the civil integration of Karabakh Armenians.

[228][229] Following the Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh on 19 September 2023, Artsakh agreed to dissolve itself by 1 January 2024,[5] although later in exile it annulled this decree for being unconstitutional.