The 2020 Nagorno Karabakh cease-fire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan ended several weeks of the worst fighting since the 1988-1994 war, but analysts from the region believed it left various territorial issues unresolved and created a few new ones. The accompanying excerpted articles report on recent incidents stemming from the territorial changes in the Nagorno Karabakh region and show how this is playing out.
The article from independent Russian-language news website Eurasia Daily reports that “an Armenian soldier was killed on May 25 after a shootout on the border in the Gegharkunik region” and how “on May 27, 6 Armenian soldiers were captured by Azerbaijani forces after an incident on the border.” The article also notes how the two sides approved “the creation of a trilateral commission (Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan) on the delimitation and demarcation of the border” in response to these incidents.
Kavkazskiy Uzel, an independent news website reporting on the Caucasus, reports that “on 12 May, Armenian officials reported that Azerbaijani forces had advanced into the Syunik region of Armenia and tried to gain territory in the Black Lake region.” The article notes how “as a result of the conflict in Karabakh in 2020, Azerbaijani border posts appeared on the eastern border of the Syunik region of Armenia.” Azerbaijan’s new border posts are in the Lachin District, which borders the Syunik Province, and is one of the territories Azerbaijan regained control of as part of the cease-fire agreement.
The article also includes comments from a couple of experts, including Pavel Felgenhauer, who said that “in the USSR, the lines of demarcation of administrative units were marked, they were not real borders.” Another analyst pointed to an example in the region, specifically how “the process of delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Georgian border has been going on for almost 30 years” and that “two thirds of this border is demarcated, but Armenia and Georgia have good relations to continue the process.” Lastly, the article brings up how “on June 2, trilateral consultations with representatives of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia were held in Moscow, during which the parties discussed de-escalation in sections of the border.” It remains to be seen what results the trilateral commission will have, but the incidents show the impact that the territorial changes of the cease-fire agreement are having.
On June 2, trilateral consultations with representatives of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia were held in Moscow, during which the parties discussed de-escalation in sections of the border.
Source: “Ереван и Баку обсудили в Москве пути деэскалации на границе (Yerevan and Baku discussed the path of de-escalation on the border in Moscow),” Eurasia Daily (an independent Russian-language news website) 3 June 2021. https://eadaily.com/ru/news/2021/06/03/erevan-ibaku-obsudili-v-moskve-puti-deeskalacii-na-granice-smi
…An Armenian soldier was killed on May 25 after a shootout on the border in the Gegharkunik region. On May 27, 6 Armenian soldiers were captured by Azerbaijani forces after an incident on the border. Yerevan proposed, and Baku largely approved, the creation of a trilateral commission (Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) on the delimitation and demarcation of the border…
Source: Tigran Petrosyan, “Аналитики в Ереване назвали карты Генштаба СССР негодными для делимитации границы (Analysts in Yerevan have called the maps of USSR General Staff unfit for border demarcation),” Kavkazskiy Uzel (independent news website reporting on the Caucasus), 3 June 2021. https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/364561/
…on 12 May, Armenian officials reported that Azerbaijani forces had advanced into the Syunik region of Armenia and tried to gain territory in the Black Lake region…The maps drawn up during the Soviet period do not unambiguously establish the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Black Lake area, according to experts on the Caucasus…
As a result of the conflict in Karabakh in 2020, Azerbaijani border posts appeared on the eastern border of the Syunik region of Armenia…
Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer also expressed the opinion that maps from the Soviet era are not suitable for demarcating borders between former Soviet republics. “In the USSR, the lines of demarcation of administrative units were marked, they were not real borders,” he stated…
“After the collapse of the USSR, the UN recognized the independence of states, not interstate borders,” said political scientist Alexander Iskandaryan…“the process of delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Georgian border has been going on for almost 30 years. Two thirds of this border is demarcated, but Armenia and Georgia have good relations to continue the process.”…
On June 2, trilateral consultations with representatives of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia were held in Moscow, during which the parties discussed de-escalation in sections of the border…
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