The South Caucasus has always been “bubbling”; questions mass war / Article / LSM.lv

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has never really subsided, and the South Caucasus has always been “bubbling”. Such an opinion was expressed by foreign policy expert Andris Sprūds in an interview with the Latvian Television program “Morning Panorama”.

The resumption of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan is a continuation of a long-running conflict between the two countries.

“Emotions will always hit a high wave here,” said the expert, acknowledging that in this “hot-blooded atmosphere” it is difficult to predict the development of events.

However, this battle will hardly turn into a “mass war” involving “everyone”, including Russia, which supports Armenia, and Turkey, which in turn is on the Azerbaijani side.

“It would be very difficult to win such a war,” Sprud estimated. He explained that tactically, Turkey and Russia are competitors, but strategically they are allies.

CONTEXT:

Azerbaijan lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh after the 1994 war with Armenia.

At the end of last week battles broke out on the actual border of Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh has traditionally been considered the so-called frozen conflict, and in particular it is pointed out that, in order to normalize the situation, it would be necessary to declare again and, not least, to observe a ceasefire.

United Nations (UN) Security Council calls on Armenian and Azerbaijani forces immediately end the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Council statement condemned the use of force and deplored the loss of life and civilian casualties.

The Security Council also reaffirmed its support for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as for the United States, Russia and France, in their efforts to mediate.

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