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Reuters
Oct 5 2012
Factbox: Nagorno-Karabakh - disputed by Azerbaijan, Armenia
(Reuters) - Armenia's President Serzh Sarksyan accused Azerbaijan on
Friday of threatening a new war over the disputed region of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Here is a look at the background to the conflict the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
* The status of Nagorno-Karabakh or "mountainous Karabakh", has been
disputed since the end of World War One, when Armenia and Azerbaijan
became independent from the Russian empire. Soviet rule was imposed in
the South Caucasus in 1923, and predominantly Armenian-populated
Nagorno-Karabakh became an autonomous region within the Azeri Soviet
republic.
* In 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities demanded to be transferred
to the Armenian republic. The region declared independence in late
1991, after tensions between Azeris and Armenians living there erupted
into war with the break-up of the Soviet Union and independence for
Armenia and Azerbaijan.
* Ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia, drove back Azeri forces
and took control of seven districts of Azerbaijan adjacent to
Nagorno-Karabakh. About 30,000 people were killed in fighting and
hundreds of thousands, mostly Azeris, were driven from their homes. A
ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but sporadic violence still
flares along Azerbaijan's border with Armenia and a line of contact
with Nagorno-Karabakh.
* In December 2006, a referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh approved a new
pro-independence constitution by a huge majority. Azerbaijan has
declared the referendum illegal under international law. The region
runs its own affairs with the backing of Armenia, but has no
international recognition as an independent state.
* In November 2008 Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan and his Azeri
counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, pledged to intensify efforts toward a
resolution. Russia, France and the United States have led years of
mediation under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe. Baku and Yerevan failed to agree at talks in
June 2011 and the angry rhetoric between them has worsened since then.
The two have accused each other of triggering recent cross-border
clashes prompting worries of a resumption of fighting in the region
criss-crossed by energy pipelines to Europe.
* Armenia pulled out of the Eurovision song contest which was hosted
by Azerbaijan in May 2012, underscoring tensions. New clashes resulted
in nine deaths in June.
* Last August, Azerbaijan pardoned and freed a soldier convicted of
killing an Armenian soldier with an axe in Budapest, drawing furious
protests from Armenia. Armenia suspended diplomatic relations with
Hungary for sending Ramil Safarov back to Azerbaijan after he had
served eight years of a life sentence for the murder.
Sources: Reuters/ www.britannica.com/AGEU
(Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit and Matt Robinson)
http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-nagorno-karabakh-disputed-azerbaijan-armenia-184103296.html
Oct 5 2012
Factbox: Nagorno-Karabakh - disputed by Azerbaijan, Armenia
(Reuters) - Armenia's President Serzh Sarksyan accused Azerbaijan on
Friday of threatening a new war over the disputed region of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Here is a look at the background to the conflict the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
* The status of Nagorno-Karabakh or "mountainous Karabakh", has been
disputed since the end of World War One, when Armenia and Azerbaijan
became independent from the Russian empire. Soviet rule was imposed in
the South Caucasus in 1923, and predominantly Armenian-populated
Nagorno-Karabakh became an autonomous region within the Azeri Soviet
republic.
* In 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities demanded to be transferred
to the Armenian republic. The region declared independence in late
1991, after tensions between Azeris and Armenians living there erupted
into war with the break-up of the Soviet Union and independence for
Armenia and Azerbaijan.
* Ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia, drove back Azeri forces
and took control of seven districts of Azerbaijan adjacent to
Nagorno-Karabakh. About 30,000 people were killed in fighting and
hundreds of thousands, mostly Azeris, were driven from their homes. A
ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but sporadic violence still
flares along Azerbaijan's border with Armenia and a line of contact
with Nagorno-Karabakh.
* In December 2006, a referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh approved a new
pro-independence constitution by a huge majority. Azerbaijan has
declared the referendum illegal under international law. The region
runs its own affairs with the backing of Armenia, but has no
international recognition as an independent state.
* In November 2008 Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan and his Azeri
counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, pledged to intensify efforts toward a
resolution. Russia, France and the United States have led years of
mediation under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe. Baku and Yerevan failed to agree at talks in
June 2011 and the angry rhetoric between them has worsened since then.
The two have accused each other of triggering recent cross-border
clashes prompting worries of a resumption of fighting in the region
criss-crossed by energy pipelines to Europe.
* Armenia pulled out of the Eurovision song contest which was hosted
by Azerbaijan in May 2012, underscoring tensions. New clashes resulted
in nine deaths in June.
* Last August, Azerbaijan pardoned and freed a soldier convicted of
killing an Armenian soldier with an axe in Budapest, drawing furious
protests from Armenia. Armenia suspended diplomatic relations with
Hungary for sending Ramil Safarov back to Azerbaijan after he had
served eight years of a life sentence for the murder.
Sources: Reuters/ www.britannica.com/AGEU
(Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit and Matt Robinson)
http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-nagorno-karabakh-disputed-azerbaijan-armenia-184103296.html