Nagorno Karabakh, what is at stake on gas and oil between Armenia and Azerbaijan
The updated point on Nagorno Karabakh
New (and stronger) winds of war in Nagorno Karabakh, an autonomous region in the southern part of the Caucasus. Clashing, in the preferential route of pipelines carrying gas and oil , are Armenia and Azerbaijan, at war for over 30 years.
Let's go step by step.
WHAT HAPPENED
Let's start with the facts. Clashes broke out between the Azerbaijani army and Armenian separatists on Sunday 27 September in Nagorno Karabakh. At least 16 soldiers and several civilians were killed.
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have both proclaimed martial law , claim to have reacted to the offensive of the other.
THE TERRITORY
The territory of the fighting is an internationally recognized region of Azerbaijan which is under Armenian control. Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in a conflict that broke out in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
A THIRTY-YEAR CLASH
A ceasefire was agreed in 1994, but the fighting has never stopped over the years. Azerbaijan and Armenia have often accused each other of attacks around Nagorno-Karabakh and along the separate Azerbaijani-Armenian border for over thirty years.
AN OIL WAR
The stakes for control of the area are high. The region is in fact a preferential route for oil pipelines that supply the main world markets with oil and gas from the Caspian.
The energy issue also touches on nuclear power: Armenia, wrote Reuters , in July 2020, had "warned about security risks in the South Caucasus in July, after Azerbaijan threatened to attack Armenia's nuclear power plant as a possible retaliation ".
TURKEY VS RUSSIA
Who is supporting whom in this war? Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Turkey supports Azerbaijan, a country rich in oil fields. Putin's Russia, on the other hand, which has always been an ally of Armenia, is calling for a ceasefire.
THE POSITION OF ITALY
The ceasefire is also the request of France, Italy and the EU.
The Farnesina expresses “concern over the news of serious clashes along the line of contact between the Azerbaijani and Armenian armed forces. Italy asks the parties to stop the violence immediately and to launch every effort, in particular under the auspices of the OSCE, to prevent the risk of further escalation ”, reads a note from the Foreign Ministry.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/nagorno-karabakh-cosa-ce-in-ballo-su-gas-e-petrolio-fra-armenia-e-azerbaigian/ on Mon, 28 Sep 2020 05:30:24 +0000.