PANEL | Nagorno-Karabakh: From Conflict to Sustainable Peace? (01.14.2021)

The Ellison Center at the University of Washington

This panel discussion features the following speakers: Dr. Philip Gamaghelyan, Assistant Professor, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego Dr. Resat Kasaba, Ann H.H. and Kenneth B. Pyle Professor of U.S. Foreign Policy, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington Dr. Kamal Makili-Aliyev, Senior Lecturer, Department of Global Political Studies, Malmö University; affiliated researcher, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Moderator: Dr. Scott Radnitz, Herbert Ellison Associate Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies, University of Washington On September 27, 2020, nearly three decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh escalated into full-scale war. Forty-four days later, on November 10th, a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement between the two countries brought a formal end to fighting. Seven districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh returned to Azerbaijani control, as well as part of Nagorno-Karabakh itself. According to the agreement, Russian peacekeepers have been dispatched to the region for five years (with the possibility of extension), economic and transportation links are to be unblocked, and internally displaced persons and refugees are to be given the right of return. Yet the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh remains undefined, and the agreement is not a formal peace treaty. In the midst of this new status quo, what comes next for Nagorno-Karabakh? This panel discusses the reasons for and outcomes of the recent war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the remaining questions surrounding the ceasefire agreement between the two countries. Panelists also discuss the changing geopolitics and geopolitical actors in the region, including the role of Turkey and the Minsk Group countries, and the necessary elements for building a sustainable peace in Nagorno-Karabakh. This talk is hosted by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies, with the Jackson School of International Studies, at the University of Washington.