Context: Recently, Russia announced it had brokered a lasting cease-fire deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory in an attempt to end six weeks of intense fighting in the south Caucasus that risked pulling both Russia and Turkey directly into the conflict.  

Key outcomes of the deal

• The deal signed with the mediation of Russia is meant to end the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
• As per the new peace deal, both sides will now maintain positions in the areas that they currently hold.
• Azerbaijan will gain significantly as it has reclaimed over 15-20 per cent of its lost territory during the recent conflict. Azerbaijan will hold on to areas that it has taken during the conflict.
• All military operations are suspended.
• 2000 Russian peacekeepers will be deployed for a period of five years along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor that connects the region to Armenia.
• Refugees and internally displaced persons will return to the region.
• Exchange of prisoners of wars and bodies.
• A new corridor will be opened from Nakhchivan to Azerbaijan, which will be under Russian control.
• Armenia has agreed to withdraw from several other adjacent areas over the next few weeks.
• Turkey will also take part in the peacekeeping process.

About Nagorno-Karabakh region

• Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but most of the region is controlled by Armenian separatists.
• The separatist Armenians have declared it a republic called the “Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast”.
• Armenian government does not recognise Nagorno-Karabakh as independent, it supports the region politically and militarily.

History

• Nagorno-Karabakh has been part of Azerbaijan territory since the Soviet era.
• When the Soviet Union began to collapse in the late 1980s, Armenia’s regional parliament voted for the region’s transfer to Armenia; the Soviet authorities turned down the demand.
• Years of clashes followed between Azerbaijan forces and Armenian separatists.
• The violence lasted into the 1990s, leaving tens and thousands dead and displacing hundreds of thousands.
• In 1994, Russia brokered a ceasefire, by which time ethnic Armenians had taken control of the region
• At present, the disputed region consists of a majority Armenian Christian population.

Also Read: https://abhipedia.abhimanu.com/Article/IAS/MjI2NzYz/Nagorno-Karabakh-conflict-Security-Issues-IAS