Thomas de Waal: BERG-KARABACH: THE CLOSING DOWN OF AN ENCLAVE

Tessa Szyszkowitz in conversation with Thomas de
Waal


BERG-KARABACH: THE CLOSING DOWN OF AN ENCLAVE


After the military victory of Azerbaidschan over Armenia a mass
exodus of Armenian refugees fleeing Berg-Karabach reflects the
changing realities of this 200-year-old conflict. More than half
of the population has fled. On September 19, Azerbaijan
used military force to retake the Armenian-populated
territory of Nagorny Karabakh, crossing a red line drawn for it
by both the European Union and the United States. The fact that
Western actors were blindsided strengthens the supposition that
Aliyev cleared his military assault in advance with Moscow—which
then failed to condemn Baku—and is coming into closer
alignment with Russia. That is all the more relevant as
the next big issue is the planned transport route
across Armenia to Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan. Russia,
Azerbaijan, and Turkey all have a shared interest in imposing
their own version of what the latter two call the Zangezur
Corridor with as little Armenian control of the route as
possible—and perhaps by force. Azerbaidschan has given orders to
close down the enclave by January 1 2024.
In this Online talk Kaukasus-expert Thomas de Waal will explain
the deep implications of the end of Berg-Karabach for the
international policy arena.





Thomas de Waal, is a senior fellow with Carnegie
Europe, specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region.
He is the author of numerous publications about the region. He is
best known for his 2003 book Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan
Through Peace and War.


Tessa Szyszkowitz, is an Austrian journalist and
author. She writes for Austrian and German publications such as
Falter & Tagesspiegel, she is also a Distinguished Fellow of
the Royal United Services Institute in London.