On September 21 of this year, the Armenian self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh officially ceased to exist, capitulating to the lightning military operation and ultimatum of Azerbaijan. Consequently, this territory once again became Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. Baku made full use of the window of opportunity that opened to it, however, there are serious concerns that the conflicts in the Caucasus are far from over. What led to this outcome, and why do many experts look at the future of the region without optimism?
WITHOUT LONG RESISTANCE
Officially, Baku called its military offensive an anti-terrorist operation, using the death of Azerbaijani soldiers in the shooting of “separatist terrorists” as a pretext for the invasion. However, the goal of the operation was the full restoration of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh and the disarmament or elimination of all “illegal armed formations” or the armed forces of the self-proclaimed Artsakh. It is estimated that a large force of around 60,000 men participated in the operation, and the first of the military objectives was to gain control over the airspace of Azerbaijan. This, given the modest Armenian air defense capabilities, was achieved within the first day. The next day, Arcaha announced its capitulation, but a day later, on September 21, which was also Armenia’s Independence Day, the capitulation was formalized and negotiations continued only on certain details.
It is worth noting that from a purely military point of view, the possibilities of resistance of Artsakh were not exhausted: according to various estimates, the Armenian forces could show fierce resistance for at least two weeks or even a month, however, the continuation of hostilities after Armenia’s refusal to support Artsakh was recognized as pointless.
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2023-09-30 06:06:16
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