While the world is still struggling with the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, another war is looming over the world as Armenia and Azerbaijan reported causalities due to border clashes.
Fresh clashes between the two countries that broke out on early Tuesday have resulted in the death of 49 Armenian soldiers and 50 troops of Azerbaijan. They leveled allegations against each other over the clashes.
While Armenia claims that Azerbaijani forces unleashed an artillery barrage and drone attacks in many sections of Armenian territory whereas, Azerbaijan justifies the action as a response to a large-scale provocation by Armenia.
Both the countries that were part of the Soviet Union have been locked in a decades-old conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Nagorno-Karabakh
It is a region that is a part of Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994.
In 2020, Azerbaijan reclaimed most of the region in a six-week war. In the war, over 6, 6000 casualties took place.
It was a Russia-brokered peace deal that had put an end to the war with a peace deal. Under the deal, Russia deployed troops in the region as the country has good relations with both Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Geopolitics involved in the clash
Turkey openly backs Azerbaijan’s claim over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and says that Armenia’s ‘occupation’ over the region must end.
On the other hand, the Minsk Group which has Russia, France, and the US tries to bring peace to the region, however, so far, it could not reach a peace deal that completely satisfied both countries.
From the defense point of view, as Armenia is a part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), it always tries to invoke the treaty. Under the treaty, any attack on the member must result in a collective response by the intergovernmental military alliance.
As per article 4 of the Collective Security Treaty (CST), aggression against one signatory should be considered aggression against all.
Members of CST are
- Armenia
- Belarus
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Russia
- Tajikistan
When it comes to import-export, oil and gas make up 90 percent of Azerbaijan’s exports. The gas pipeline from the country supplies gas not only to Turkey but to other European countries.
Any instability in the region could result in disruption in the fuel supply to European countries which are already facing high power and fuel bills due to Russian invasion of Ukraine.
India’s stand on Armenia-Azerbaijan
Indian on Tuesday called for an immediate ceasefire and said that bilateral disputes should be settled through diplomacy and dialogue.
The Official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi said that India encourages both sides to aim for talks to arrive at a lasting and peaceful solution.
“We have seen reports of attacks along the Armenia- Azerbaijan border, including targeting civilian settlements and infrastructure on 12/13 September 2022. We call upon the aggressor side to immediately cease hostilities,” he said in a statement.
