The Conflict Between Azerbaijan And Armenia: Historical Hatred

Armenia and Azerbaijan have a long history of conflict, with five wars waged between the two countries in the past century. The root of their animosity can be traced back to the early 20th century, with massacres and conflicts solidifying oppositional ethnic identities and contributing to the development of national consciousness among both groups. The dispute is primarily over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies within Azerbaijan's internationally recognised borders but has been home to tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians. The region has been at the heart of one of the world's longest-running conflicts, with tensions flaring up periodically and resulting in violent clashes and wars. Anti-Armenian sentiment, or Armenophobia, is widespread in Azerbaijan, with a 2012 opinion poll finding that 91% of Azerbaijanis perceive Armenia as their country's biggest enemy. The conflict has resulted in thousands of deaths, displaced people, and allegations of ethnic cleansing and massacres committed by both sides.

Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan

Anti-Armenian sentiment, also known as anti-Armenianism and Armenophobia, is widespread in Azerbaijan. According to a 2012 opinion poll, 91% of Azerbaijanis perceive Armenia as "the biggest enemy of Azerbaijan." The word "Armenian" is widely used as an insult in Azerbaijan, and the media often circulates stereotypical opinions that have deep roots in the public consciousness.

Throughout the 20th century, Armenians and Turkic-speaking Muslims (Shia and Sunni, then known as "Caucasian Tatars," later as Azerbaijanis) in Transcaucasia have been involved in numerous conflicts. Pogroms, massacres, and wars solidified oppositional ethnic identities between the two groups and contributed to the development of national consciousness. From 1918 to 1920, organized killings of Armenians occurred in Azerbaijan, particularly in Armenian cultural centers in Baku and Shusha.

Contemporary Armenophobia in Azerbaijan can be traced to the final years of the Soviet Union. When Armenians demanded that the Soviet authorities transfer the mostly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) in the Azerbaijan SSR to the Armenian SSR, Azeri nationalist groups responded by inciting anti-Armenian sentiments that led to pogroms in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku. As a result, an estimated 300,000-350,000 Armenians fled or were deported from Azerbaijan, and roughly 167,000 Azerbaijanis were forced to flee Armenia, often under violent circumstances. These tensions eventually escalated into a large-scale military conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in Azerbaijan losing control of around 14% of its territory to the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The loss of territory sparked further anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan.

The Armenian side has accused the Azerbaijani government of carrying out an anti-Armenian policy inside and outside the country, including propaganda of hate and the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage. According to reports, Armenians are the most vulnerable group in Azerbaijan concerning racism and racial discrimination.

Instances of anti-Armenianism in Azerbaijan include the Sumgait pogrom in 1988, when 32 people, including 26 ethnic Armenians, were murdered. During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the Azerbaijani forces carried out the Maraga Massacre in 1992, killing at least 40 Armenians. More recently, in 2004, Azerbaijani lieutenant Ramil Safarov murdered Armenian lieutenant Gurgen Markaryan while he was asleep. After being sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary, Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan in 2012, pardoned by the Azerbaijani president, promoted to the rank of major, and greeted as a hero.

Anti-Armenianism also extends to the destruction of cultural heritage. In 2006, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of destroying a cemetery of khachkar carvings in the Armenian cemetery in Julfa. In 2019, Azerbaijan's destruction of Armenian cultural heritage was described as "the worst cultural genocide of the 21st century." During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Azerbaijani forces shelled the historic 19th-century Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha.

Additionally, anti-Armenianism is institutionalized in Azerbaijan through its education system. According to reports, various Azerbaijani school textbooks label Armenians with derogatory epithets such as "bandits," "aggressors," and "hypocrites."

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaijanis until their expulsion during the 1990s. The conflict has resulted in five wars between the two nations since their independence from the Soviet Union.

In 1923, the Soviet Union established the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, home to a 95% ethnically Armenian population, within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1988, the Armenians of Karabakh voted to secede and join Armenia. This was met with pogroms (attacks) of Armenians in Azerbaijan. In 1991, as the Soviet Union was dissolving, the Armenian majority in Nagorno-Karabakh voted to secede from Azerbaijan, declaring independence. This triggered the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, which lasted from 1988 to 1994, resulting in roughly 30,000 casualties and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. By 1993, Armenia had gained control of Nagorno-Karabakh and occupied 20% of Azerbaijan's geographic area. A Russian-brokered ceasefire in 1994 left Nagorno-Karabakh de facto independent, with a self-proclaimed government in Stepanakert, but still heavily reliant on Armenia.

Despite the ceasefire, tensions remained high, and there were intermittent clashes and violations. In April 2016, intense fighting over four days resulted in hundreds of casualties. In September 2020, heavy fighting resumed, escalating into the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. More than 7,000 soldiers and civilians were killed, with hundreds more wounded. Despite mediation attempts by Russia, France, and the US, three ceasefires failed, and fighting continued until a fourth ceasefire was brokered by Russia on November 9, 2020. Azerbaijan reclaimed most of the territory it had lost, including control of seven districts adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh and a substantial part of Nagorno-Karabakh itself. A Russian peacekeeping force was deployed to patrol the rest of the region, which remained governed by self-proclaimed local authorities.

The conflict continued to escalate, with Azerbaijan imposing a blockade on Nagorno-Karabakh in December 2022 and launching a military offensive in September 2023, resulting in another ceasefire agreement. Most ethnic Armenians fled, and the Republic of Artsakh was officially dissolved on January 1, 2024. Azerbaijan plans to "reintegrate" the region and its remaining population, promising economic development.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has deep roots in historical tensions, territorial disputes, and ethnic differences between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The region's complex history, dating back to the collapse of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, has shaped the animosity between the two nations.

Ethnic clashes and violence

From 1918 to 1920, during the Armenian–Azerbaijani War, organised killings of Armenians occurred in Azerbaijan, particularly in the Armenian cultural centres of Baku and Shushi. This wave of anti-Armenian massacres continued until 1920 when both countries joined the Soviet Union. During this period, an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 ethnic Armenians were killed in the September Days massacre in Baku, in retaliation for the killing of about 12,000 Muslims during the clashes of the March Days. Other massacres include the killing of up to 700 Armenians in Khaibalikend, organised by Karabakh's Governor-General, and the massacre of around 10,000 Armenians in 45 villages in Nakhchivan throughout 1919.

In the 1920s, when Armenia and Azerbaijan became part of the Soviet Union, tensions cooled as the Soviet government tried to foster peaceful coexistence between the two ethnic groups. However, many Azerbaijanis resented the high social status of Armenians in Azerbaijan, and when the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh broke out, public opinion in both countries hardened.

In the late 1980s, as the Soviet Union began to collapse, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, with its majority ethnic Armenian population, voted to become part of Armenia. This triggered anti-Armenian riots and pogroms in Sumgait, where 32 people, including 26 ethnic Armenians, were murdered. As tensions escalated, new pogroms took place in rapid succession in Kirovabad and Baku, resulting in a permanent migratory trend of Armenians away from Azerbaijan.

The tensions between the two groups eventually escalated into a large-scale military conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in the late 1980s and early 1990s, known as the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. This conflict resulted in years of bloodshed and suffering, with tens of thousands killed and more than a million displaced amid reports of ethnic cleansing and massacres committed by both sides. The war ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire in 1994, with Nagorno-Karabakh remaining part of Azerbaijan but governed by a separatist, self-declared republic run by ethnic Armenians and backed by the Armenian government.

Despite the ceasefire, the situation remained volatile, with bouts of fighting interrupting periods of relative calm. In 2020, the biggest military confrontation since the early 1990s took place, resulting in six weeks of heavy fighting and thousands of deaths. This latest escalation was triggered by Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting the Republic of Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, which caused severe shortages of basic food items and medication. The deployment of Russian peacekeepers brought the fighting to a halt, but tensions continued to rise, leading to further clashes and violence in the following years.

Russian influence and peace-keeping

Russia has been an important actor in Armenia since the early 19th century, with the two countries' historic relationship rooted in the Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828, after which Eastern Armenia was ceded to Russia. Russia was also viewed as a protector of Christian subjects in the Ottoman Empire, including Armenians. Armenia and Russia are both members of the military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and Armenia considers this relationship essential to its security. There are Russian military bases in Armenia, and the countries have signed treaties of friendship and mutual aid.

However, in recent years, the relationship has deteriorated due to events such as the 2018 Armenian Revolution, the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, the 2022 Armenia-Azerbaijan clashes, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia has accused Russia of failing to protect it from Azerbaijan and has sought to diversify its security arrangements, most notably with the EU and the US. Armenia has also declined to take part in military exercises with Russia and has asked for Russian peacekeeping forces to leave.

Russia has been accused of pursuing its interests in the region, with some analysts arguing that its influence in the Southern Caucasus has dwindled while Turkey's has increased. Armenia has also accused Russia of failing in its peacekeeping duties in Nagorno-Karabakh, with Russian peacekeepers withdrawing from the region in April 2024, leaving it under Azerbaijan's full control.

Despite the strained relations, Armenia and Russia remain tied through the CSTO, and Russia continues to have military bases in Armenia. In May 2023, Russia offered to deploy a CSTO mission along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, and in June 2024, Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian Prime Minister, confirmed that Armenia had frozen its participation in the CSTO, stating that membership was under review.

Turkish influence and support for Azerbaijan

Turkey and Azerbaijan have strong economic, military, cultural, and linguistic ties. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has invoked the saying that the countries are "one nation, two states".

Turkey has long supported Azerbaijan's claims over disputed territory in the region. During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in the early 1990s, Turkey provided political and military support to Azerbaijan, though this was not enough to change the course of the conflict.

Turkey's support for Azerbaijan has increased significantly over the last decade. In 2010, the two countries signed the "Agreement on Strategic Partnership and Mutual Support", pledging to support each other in the event of aggression by a third party and to conduct joint military exercises. Turkey is now Azerbaijan's third-largest supplier of weapons, after Israel and Russia. Turkish military exports to Azerbaijan increased sixfold in 2020. In July 2020, Turkey and Azerbaijan held joint military exercises, during which Turkey transferred large quantities of military equipment to Azerbaijan, including F-16 jets, Bayraktar TB2 attack drones, and missile systems. Turkish military officers also trained their Azeri counterparts on the deployment of missile systems and the operation of Turkish-made drones.

In addition to military support, Turkey has also provided diplomatic backing for Azerbaijan. In October 2020, Erdogan praised Azerbaijan's "great operation both to defend its own territories and to liberate the occupied Karabakh". He affirmed that Turkey would continue to stand with "friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan with all our means and all our heart".

Turkey's support for Azerbaijan goes beyond shared cultural and linguistic ties. Azerbaijan is crucial for Turkey's energy security and is a major investor in the Turkish economy. Gas imports from Azerbaijan to Turkey rose by 23% in the first half of 2020, and SOCAR, Azerbaijan's state oil company, has become the biggest foreign investor in Turkey.

Turkey's backing of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has angered Western nations, who have accused it of adding fuel to a dangerous conflict. Analysts say that Turkey's support has played a significant role in what is the most serious flare-up in the region since the 1990s.

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