Nagorno-Karabakh Separatist Government Announces Dissolution, Signaling Major Shift in Region

In a dramatic turn of events, the separatist government of Nagorno-Karabakh announced Thursday that it will dissolve itself and the unrecognized republic will cease to exist by the end of the year. This comes after Azerbaijan carried out a lightning offensive to reclaim full control over the region and demanded that Armenian troops lay down their weapons.

The agreement reached last week to end the fighting allows for the “free, voluntary and unhindered movement” of Nagorno-Karabakh residents and disarm troops in Armenia in exchange for Azerbaijan’s control of the region.

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has accused neighboring Azerbaijan of “ethnic cleansing” as tens of thousands of people have fled the Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia. Pashinyan predicted that all ethnic Armenians would flee the region in “the coming days” amid an ongoing Azerbaijani military operation there.

More than half of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh has already fled, according to Armenian officials. The region has been a source of tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The two countries have been locked in a decades-long conflict over the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians.

The dissolution of the separatist government of Nagorno-Karabakh marks a major shift in the region and could lead to a lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The international community will be closely monitoring the situation in the coming weeks and months to ensure that the agreement is respected and that the rights of all those affected are protected.