Armenia to consider formal recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh independence after border clashes with Azerbaijan over disputed region

Yerevan may finally recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, a large ethnic Armenian enclave it supports, inside Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, on Sunday as clashes erupted between the neighbors. 

“We are weighing all scenarios of possible developments,” Pashinyan said. The prospect of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence must be considered very seriously and should be thoroughly discussed, he pointed out while speaking in the parliament.

Yerevan and Baku have been trading blame for the fresh outbreak of violence on Sunday. Armenia, which has introduced martial law on its territory, said that it acted in response to the shelling of Nagorno-Karabakh by the Azeri military.

Azerbaijan insists that the shots came from the Armenian side and that it was only retaliating, in self-defence. Baku also followed suit in announcing martial law later in the day.

The disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh has been a bone of contention between the two South Caucasus nations for three decades now. Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a bloody war over it in the 1990s, with subsequent border clashes sporadically erupting between the sides, despite a ceasefire. 

Russia has called upon Yerevan and Baku to stop hostilities and offered to play the role of a mediator in the talks between the two countries.

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