Baku:
The self-declared republic of Nagorno-Karabakh will cease to exist from next year. According to CNN, this comes as the region’s president signed a decree dissolving state institutions following the defeat by Azerbaijan.
According to CNN, last week’s Azerbaijani victory caused a massive exodus of ethnic Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh and marked the end of decades of conflict, and possibly the end of centuries of Armenian presence in the region.
As a result of the defeat, President Samvel Shahramanyan issued a decree calling for the dissolution of all institutions and organizations of the Republic of Artsakh – which is not internationally recognized – from January 1, 2024. “The Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) shall cease with existence,” the decree said.
Nagorno-Karabakh lies within the borders of Azerbaijan, but has operated autonomously for decades with its own de facto government. Last week, Azerbaijan regained control of the breakaway region after an offensive that lasted just 24 hours.
Azerbaijan has long been clear about the choice to confront the Karabakh Armenians: stay and accept Azerbaijani citizenship, or leave. The majority of the population has already voted and tens of thousands have fled their homes rather than submit to Baku’s rule, according to CNN.
Azerbaijan launched its offensive on September 19, firing missiles and drones at the regional capital Stepanakert, marking the start of a third war fought over control of the region in as many decades.
Under the Soviet Union, of which Azerbaijan and Armenia are both former members, Nagorno-Karabakh became an autonomous region within the Republic of Azerbaijan.
According to CNN, Karabakh officials passed a resolution in 1988 announcing their intention to join the Republic of Armenia, sparking fighting as the Soviet Union began to crumble, in what would become the First Karabakh War. About 30,000 people were killed in the six years of violence, which ended in 1994 when the Armenian side gained control of the region.
The Second Karabakh War began in 2020 after years of sporadic clashes. Azerbaijan, backed by its historic ally Turkey, retook a third of Karabakh’s territory in just 44 days, before both sides agreed to lay down their weapons in a Russian-brokered ceasefire.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)