Turkey Is Prolonging The Bloodshed In Nagorno-Karabakh

Nagorno-Karabakh is a breakaway region that belongs to Azerbaijan under international law but is governed and populated by ethnic Armenians. Although skirmishes have been common along the front lines of this territory through the years, this level of violence has not been seen since 1990, when a full-scale ethnic war erupted.

The re-ignition of Armenia and Azerbaijan’s thirty-two-year struggle over the Nagorno-Karabakh region has in part been fueled by Turkey’s regional ambitions. Ankara’s support for Baku is unsurprising, as both countries share close cultural ties and Turkish heritage. Turkey and Armenia, however, have a long history of conflict. Tensions date back to at least World War I when Armenians were massacred and driven out from Turkey during the fall of the Ottoman Empire, recognized by many today as the Armenian Genocide. Years of persecution and a tumultuous history have led to the Armenian military to defend the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Turkey has used mercenaries, propaganda, military aid, and weapons exports to help drive Azerbaijan to war with Armenia. Ankara’s military exports to Azerbaijan have dramatically increased in the last year. According to export data, the sale of drones, ammunition, and other weapons rose to over $76 million the month before tensions escalated over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Additionally, Azerbaijan acquired $123 million in other military and aviation technology from Turkey in early 2020. Ankara and Baku also held joint military training exercises between July 29 and August 5 of this year. Clearly, the two countries have been in close military coordination.