The Role of Turkey and Russia on the Resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Year 2021, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 158 - 174, 15.03.2021

Gamze Helvacıköylü

Abstract

South Caucasus has always been the scene for instabilities in the region. Being in the backyard of the Soviets, many of the conflicts have their roots back to the Soviet Union. Demographic changes during the Soviet Union have mainly formed the basis of them. Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, no major changes occured for facilitating the resolution processes. Moreover, Russia’s tendency to dominate the region has resulted in the continuation of the ongoing conflicts to be named as frozen. The reason for this lies in the fact that there are more benefits in protecting the status quo rather than resolving. Turkey, on the other hand, having close ties with the region historically and culturally, is not a direct part of these conflicts; but is very much effected by them due to the complexity of their ethnic dimensions. Therefore, Turkey has showed a level of eagerness to be part of the resolution process. The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict is one of the longest unsolved issues in the world, which involves many parties regarding the geopolitical dimensions and security elements. Even if it seems to be solved for the time being, the instability of the region raises some doubts of its continuity in the long run.

Keywords

Turkey, Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia, Armenia

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