GNV News — March 16, 2025

On March 13, 2025, the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan announced that they had agreed to conclude a peace treaty to end a conflict that has lasted for nearly 40 years. The conflict erupted in the 1990s over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had a large Armenian population but was regarded by many countries as Azerbaijani territory. Thereafter, with military support from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh settled into a situation in which it was “independent” from Azerbaijan. However, in September 2023, Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, carried out a large-scale military incursion, forcing about 100,000 ethnic Armenian residents—around 85% of the area’s population—to flee. Since then, Azerbaijan has effectively controlled the region. Negotiations regarding the date and location for the formal signing of the peace treaty are still ongoing.

However, the issue has not been completely resolved. As a precondition for signing the treaty, Azerbaijan is demanding the deletion of references in Armenia’s constitution to “the belonging of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia,” but amending Armenia’s constitution requires a national referendum, making implementation difficult. There is also the possibility that Azerbaijan will demand further concessions from Armenia, and it appears that more time will be needed for a complete resolution of the conflict.

Learn more about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict → “Repeated military clashes: Nagorno-Karabakh”

Learn more about Nagorno-Karabakh → “Nagorno-Karabakh: A region that looks like a state but isn’t one”

A drone used for military purposes in Nagorno-Karabakh (Photo: David Stanley / Flickr [CC BY 2.0])