Mapping
Source: TH
Context: Russian peacekeepers have commenced withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh following Azerbaijan’s recapture of the disputed territory last year.
The withdrawal comes after Azerbaijan’s lightning one-day offensive last September, triggering a refugee crisis and altering the area’s demographic landscape. The move also reflects ruptured ties between traditional allies Russia and Armenia, with Armenia suspending its participation in the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and joining the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It centres on the Nagorno-Karabakh region, predominantly Armenian-populated but within Azerbaijan’s borders. A ceasefire mediated by Russia in 1994 left the region under Armenian control, though it’s still recognized as part of Azerbaijan. The area is now governed by separatist Armenians and called the “Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.”
