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Geopolitics

The Return Of Ethnic Cleansing: Why Nagorno-Karabakh Matters, And Isn't Over Yet

In a few days' time, there will probably be no Armenians left in Nagorno-Karabakh, part of a long history of ethnic cleansing. The self-proclaimed Republic, defeated by Azerbaijan, has announced its dissolution, signaling its historic failure. But it also has much wider geopolitical implications.

-Analysis-

PARIS — It's a specifically post-Soviet tragedy, but also a reflection of the entire world's current state of disorder. History will remember Thursday's dissolution of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, Nagorno-Karabakh, announced solemnly by its defeated leaders. And it will remember above all this new mass ethnic cleansing, a practice perpetuated from war to war, over the centuries.

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The Nagorno-Karabakh Debacle: Bad News For Putin Or Set Up For A Coup In Armenia?

It's been a whirlwind 24 hours in the Armenian enclave, whose sudden surrender is reshaping the power dynamics in the volatile Caucasus region, leaving lingering questions about the future of a region long under the Russian sphere of influence.

-Analysis-

It happened quickly, much faster than anyone could have imagined. It took the Azerbaijani army just 24 hours to force the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh to surrender. The fighting, which claimed about 100 lives, ended Wednesday when the leaders of the breakaway region accepted Baku's conditions.

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Thus ends the self-proclaimed "Republic of Artsakh" — the name that the separatists gave to Nagorno-Karabakh.

How can we explain such a speedy defeat, given that this crisis has been going on for nearly three decades and has already triggered two high-intensity wars, in 1994 and 2020? The answer is simple: the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed themselves into a corner.

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How Russia's Setbacks In Ukraine Could Reignite Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict

Azerbaijan’s recent shelling of Armenia is the worst hostilities since the war in 2020 over the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. While in the past, Russia, a historic ally of Armenia, sought to restore peace, the Kremlin may make a different calculus this time.

-Analysis-

Almost two years ago, what is now referred to as the “Second Karabakh War” broke the uneasy truce which had been in effect between Armenia and Azerbaijan since 1994. After 44 days of intense fighting – with thousands of dead on both sides – it ended in a precarious, Russian-mediated ceasefire on November 10, 2020.

The nine-point document setting out the terms of the ceasefire in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region of the South Caucasus largely cemented the gains made by Azerbaijan during the war. Among others, it provided for a withdrawal of Armenia’s troops from Azerbaijan and the restoration of economic and transportation links between the two countries.

This is particularly important for Azerbaijan, whose access to its Nakhchivan exclave is separated by Armenia’s Syunik province. The agreement also included arrangements for the stationing of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh until at least 2025.

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Armenia-Azerbaijan Reignites, Greenpeace Nuke Protest, Godard Dies

👋 Ushé-ushé!*

Welcome to Tuesday, where Ukraine continues to reconquer territory, fresh clashes on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border leave at least 49 dead and France says adieu to two 20th-century titans of the visual arts. Meanwhile, business daily Les Echos draws a profile of Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia's top 10 billionaires who continues to grow his business despite Western sanctions.

[*Kanuri, Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon]

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Geopolitics
Paul Tavignot

In Azerbaijan, The 'Sextape' Is An Instrument Of Repression

Critics of Ilham Aliev's regime accuse the government of using sexually explicit material — including images of wives and daughters — to strong-arm its opponents.

For some of Azerbaijani's opposition figures, Big Brother has moved into the bedroom, with the result being the distribution of "sex tapes' on social networks.

Often the videos are filmed by cameras hidden in the victims' homes without their knowledge. Once recorded, the intimate images are "shared" — along with nude photographs and/or personal correspondence — onto a Telegram channel or Facebook accounts.

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LA STAMPA
Roberto Travan

Nagorno-Karabakh, A 25-Year Border War Reignites With Religion

TALISH — For some, this is a forgotten war. For others, it's a frozen conflict. There are also those who consider it a proxy war between Turkey and Russia, with Moscow on the side of the Armenians, and Ankara supporting the Aliyev family, which has ruled Azerbaijan for the past half-century.

But before all else, this is a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and one that has raged on and off for 25 years.

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LA STAMPA
Roberto Travan

On The Front Line Of The Forgotten War Of Nagorno-Karabakh

The breakaway country's fight for independence has lasted 25 years in the rubble of the Soviet empire. There is, inevitably perhaps, a growing religious rhetoric to the battle.

STEPANAKERT— Marut is wearing faded camouflage, with a bayonet clamped to his belt and a degree in his pocket. He tells us how his grandfather fought the Germans in 1945, how an uncle of his took on the Taliban in Afghanistan in the 1980s and how his father fought against Azerbaijan in the 1992 war for independence.

Two years ago, Marut joined the fight himself, serving on the frontline against Azerbaijan just like his father once did.

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blog

Eurovision 2015 Contestants: Azerbaijan

Since Azerbaijan first participated in Eurovision in 2008, the country has basically gone crazy for the contest. It has become the country’s most watched program on local broadcaster Azeri TV. So popular it doesn’t matter that the three-hour long show starts airing after midnight.

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Geopolitics

It's A Girl: The Tragedy Of Gendercide Around The World

By Julie Farrar

LONDON — If nobody meddles with the natural course of human biology, there should be 100 girls born for every 105 boys. But, tragically, there are places in the world where people are still obsessed with only having sons, and ready to act on it.

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Economy
Richard Werly

Baku's Oil Glory, From Stalin To The Rothschilds And Nobels

BAKU — Amid the crashing and banging of dumpster trucks loaded with ballast, Fazil Gazi is a prime witness to one of the most famous oil hills in the world as it enters a new era.

In all the books dedicated to the black gold of the Caspian sea, this maze of small streets with rutted sidewalks, still congested with old Ladas and Soviet buses, had an evocative nickname: “Black City.” That’s because just below Fazil’s humble home in Baku, Azerbaijan, there was nothing but petroleum.

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Sources

The Eurovision Song Contest: Not So Fun If You Are Azerbaijani

Repression, evictions, demolition: three words you don't normally associate with the Eurovision Song Contest. Azerbaijan has bulldozed its capital's center to make way for the glitzy palace that will house the contest, evicting people an

BAKU - Everyone knows the Eurovision Song Contest: improbable artists and cheesy folklore. But in 2012, the musical competition, watched by an average 125 million people, will also have an unprecedented political dimension. All because of Ell & Nikki: By winning Eurovision in May 2011, the Azerbaijani pop duo provided the capital Baku with the opportunity to organize the 2012 edition.

On May 26, the spotlight will be on Azerbaijan, giving the country a chance to show how modern it has become. Among other things, a magnificent crystal palace that will welcome the contestants and 25,000 spectators was built in record time in the heart of the capital.

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