Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to end decades long conflict

Armenian and Azerbaijani officials announced on Thursday that they had finalised the text of a peace agreement that aims to end the almost four-decade-long conflict between the South Caucasus nations.

This is a major and surprising breakthrough in a peace process that has been stuck many times and proved difficult for a long time.

The two post-Soviet states have been embroiled in hostilities since the late 1980s. Back then, Nagorno-Karabakh was a region of Azerbaijan with a predominantly ethnic-Armenian population which seceded from Azerbaijan.

The dispute over this region led to multiple wars over the years, but the agreed-upon text now raises hopes for a lasting resolution to the longstanding conflict.

Background of the conflict

The landlocked mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh was internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it had an ethnic Armenian majority who were backed by Armenia. This situation created tension between the two neighbours.

Until recently, much of Nagorno-Karabakh was governed by the unrecognised "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic", also known as the "Republic of Artsakh".

While Armenia never officially recognised the region's independence, it became its main financial and military backer, and the territory functioned as a de facto part of Armenia.

After many years of pauses in fighting with occasional bursts of violence, Azerbaijani troops quickly took control of the area in September 2023 with the help of Turkish drones, defeating Armenian forces in a short battle.

The majority of ethnic Armenians fled, and on January 1, 2024, "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" was formally dissolved.