The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict from the Perspective of International Law and the Armistice Agreement Ending the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War

The long-standing tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the South Caucasus, which became a frozen conflict for many years due to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, evolved into an armed conflict in the last months of 2020. This conflict is known as the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and lasted for 44 days. Even though Armenia is the party responsible for starting the war by committing armed attacks on Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan immediately responded to these unlawful acts on the grounds of its right to self-defense. This war caused many casualties for both sides and ended with the Armistice Agreement signed on November 9, 2020. The first section of this article focuses particularly on the previous ceasefire processes and diplomatic initiatives as well as their historical development prior to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. The second section addresses the start of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War alongside the violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law Armenia committed during the war. The final section examines in detail the provisions of the Armistice Agreement of November 9, 2020. This article's conclusion underlines that no provision is present in the Armistice Agreement that determines the final status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Hence, the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute is still an actual conflict that must be subjected to a resolution. Therefore, it is important to have the relevant actors, including Turkey, put effort into achieving a final peace agreement as well as a long-term peaceful settlement regarding the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.