He also said State isn't planning to renew a long-standing waiver that allows the U.S. to provide military assistance to Baku.

Highlights:

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned a small group of lawmakers last week that his department is tracking the possibility that Azerbaijan could soon invade Armenia, according to two people familiar with the conversation.

Azerbaijiani President Ilham Aliyev has previously called on Armenia to open a “corridor” along its southern border, linking mainland Azerbaijan to an exclave that borders Turkey and Iran. Aliyev has threatened to solve the issue “by force.”

  • KevonLooney@lemm.eeEnglish
    322·
    1 year ago

    Nobody really cares about Armenia, so this issue has flown under the radar in the past month:

    On 19–20 September 2023 Azerbaijan initiated a military offensive in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region which ended with the surrender of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh and the disbandment of its armed forces. Prior to this offensive, Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but governed and populated by ethnic Armenians, had a population of nearly 120,000. Faced with threats of genocide and ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan, over 100,400 ethnic Armenians, nearly the entire current population of Nagorno-Karabakh,[6] had fled by the end of September 2023.[2][3]

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_of_Nagorno-Karabakh_Armenians

    • sik0fewl@kbin.social
      46·
      1 year ago

      It’s because Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Always has been.

      Now, if Azerbaijan invades actual Armenia proper, then that’s a different story.

      • CapgrasDelusion@kbin.social
        142·
        1 year ago

        if Azerbaijan invades actual Armenia proper, then that’s a different story.

        The possibility of that happening is literally the linked article.

        Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Always has been.

        Internationally recognized, fine. The population was about 120,000. 100,000 fled to Armenia after the attack. I’m sure they care about international lines on a map.

        Always has been is categorically false. Armenia has been a country for about a thousand years before the ones who drew the lines on your map.

        • sik0fewl@kbin.social
          34·
          1 year ago

          The possibility of that happening is literally the linked article.

          I know, it’s the title of the article, but I’ve seen many comments in recent weeks suggesting it’s already happened.

          Internationally recognized, fine. The population was about 120,000. 100,000 fled to Armenia after the attack. I’m sure they care about international lines on a map.

          Azerbaijan assured them they did not need to flee (for what it’s worth).

          Always has been is categorically false. Armenia has been a country for about a thousand years before the ones who drew the lines on your map.

          This is true of almost every nation. Not excusing it, but nations get conquered and amalgamated. I hope we can stop doing that, but we can’t just magically reset things.

          Now, when it comes to Armenia, I think the borders could have been drawn better than they were after soviet collapse.