Description
This project will seek to explain the dispute in the Nagorno-Karabakh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan from the perspective of the United States which is one of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. The Nagorno-Karabakh issue is still ongoing ethnic and territorial conflict in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in 1988. Twice, Armenia and Azerbaijan have gone to war over this territory. These armed conflicts were ended by ceasefire agreements in 1994 and 2020. Although the United States has not been party to the post-Cold War conflicts over Nagorno-Karabakh, it maintained close relationships in the Karabakh region to advance their national interests in the South Caucasus. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group was established in 1992 to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. As well as having the United States’s own interests in Nagorno-Karabakh, the United States has become co-chair of the Minsk Group. However, despite the negotiations that have been held under the auspices of the Minsk Group, a settlement that is acceptable to both Armenia and Azerbaijan have not been found. To establish whether the interests and actions of the United States prevent a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, this study investigates the origins of the Minsk Group, its attempts at peace-making and the interests and activities of the United States on the region.
