The political conflict between Mountainous (Nagorno or Upper) Karabakh and Azerbaijan dates back to 1918, when for the first time in history a state named Azerbaijan was founded with the break-up of the Russian Empire. Never in its history has Azerbaijan had sovereignty over the Mountainous Karabakh region. The confl ict resumed in 1988 and gradually escalated into an armed confrontation, when Azerbaijan responded violently to the peaceful popular quest of the Mountainous (Nagorno) Karabakh Autonomous Region to be reunited with Soviet Armenia. In 1991, the Mountainous Karabakh Republic was founded and it initiated the process of its independence in compliance with the domestic legislation of the USSR and in conformity with the principles and attributes required by international law for the creation of an independent state.
This is the condensed version of the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun position paper titled “Towards a Fair and Just Resolution: The Mountainous (Nagorno) Karabakh Confl ict,” published in September 2010.
The complete version of this position paper can be accessed at:
http://www.arfd.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/201009-ARF-KarabakhFile-web1.pdf
