In October 2021 an airport opens in Fuzuli, the first to be built on the liberated lands. A year earlier, in autumn 2020, the town was still a front line. On 10 November 2020 the guns fell silent, but the outcome was not yet complete: Russian peacekeepers stood in part of the territory, and, in Azerbaijan’s official view, the remnants of Armenian armed units had not been withdrawn. This lesson follows 2020–2024 in three steps: tension and «Qisas», the restoration of full sovereignty, and reconstruction with the Great Return (see «The Great Victory: the Tovuz battles and the Patriotic War (2020)»).
After the statement: tension, «Qisas» and the Lachin road
Under the statement of 10 November 2020 a Russian peacekeeping contingent of 1,960 men was deployed in Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor for five years (with a possible extension), while Armenian armed forces were to be withdrawn from the area. Azerbaijan held that this condition was not being met: remnants of the Armenian armed forces and illegal armed groups stayed, and mine-laying and ceasefire violations kept recurring.
Operation «Qisas» (early August 2022). According to Azerbaijan’s official position, in reply to provocations by the Armenian side the Azerbaijani Army launched Operation «Qisas» («Revenge») in the Lachin direction and took control of strategic heights. It was a limited operation.
The return of Lachin town (26 August 2022). This was not a result of «Qisas» but the carrying out of the statement of 10 November 2020: after a new route had replaced the old Lachin road, the town of Lachin and the villages of Zabukh and Sus came under Azerbaijani control on 26 August.
The Lachin border checkpoint (23 April 2023). Azerbaijan set up a border checkpoint on the stretch of the Lachin road at the Armenian frontier. Baku explained this as a step to stop the road being used illegally to carry weapons and mines; Armenia called it the closing of the corridor. Earlier, from 12 December 2022, Azerbaijani activists had begun a protest on the Lachin road (Azerbaijan called them environmental protesters); Armenia and a number of international organisations described this as a blockade of the corridor and a worsening humanitarian situation for the Armenian population of Karabakh, while Azerbaijan said the road had not been closed. On 22 February 2023 the International Court of Justice (in Armenia v. Azerbaijan) ordered Azerbaijan to take all measures at its disposal to ensure the unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the corridor in both directions.
The local anti-terror measures (19–20 September 2023)
On the morning of 19 September 2023 mine explosions killed Azerbaijani police officers and civilians. At 13:00 the Ministry of Defence announced the start of local anti-terror measures: the aim was to disarm the Armenian armed units and remove them from the territory and to neutralise military infrastructure. The measures lasted about a day: on 20 September, through the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, a ceasefire and the surrender of weapons were agreed. The official name is «local anti-terror measures»; in everyday speech it is also called the «anti-terror operation».
SovereigntyDefinition
A state’s supreme and independent authority on its own territory. For Azerbaijan it means exercising authority over the whole territory within its internationally recognised borders.
As a result the armed formations in the area were dissolved. On 21 September talks on reintegration were held in Yevlakh between Azerbaijani representatives and representatives of the Karabakh Armenians. From 24 September to the beginning of October, according to the Armenian government, more than 100,000 people left Karabakh for Armenia (the Armenian population of the region was about 120,000) — that is, the great majority of its inhabitants. Those who left and Armenia cited fear for their safety; Azerbaijani officials urged them to stay as citizens of Azerbaijan and said their rights would be guaranteed. A UN humanitarian mission visited the region on 1 October for the first time in nearly 30 years. The leadership of the unrecognised «Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh» decided to dissolve all its institutions by 1 January 2024. On 15 October President Ilham Aliyev raised the state flag in Khankendi. So, for the first time in several decades, Azerbaijan’s full sovereignty was restored over the whole territory.
2024: the election, the peacekeepers’ departure and COP29
In December 2023 President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree calling a snap presidential election. It was held on 7 February 2024 and for the first time took place across the whole country, including the liberated Karabakh and East Zangezur. Ilham Aliyev won about 92 per cent of the vote and was re-elected. Baku called the election free and transparent, while some international observer bodies criticised the competitive environment.
Once sovereignty had been restored, Azerbaijan held that the peacekeeping mission was over (the five-year term in the statement would have run until November 2025). Russia began the withdrawal in April 2024, and on 12 June Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence announced that the withdrawal was complete. On 11–22 November the UN climate conference, COP29, was held in Baku; Azerbaijan’s selection as host (December 2023) is seen as a sign of its international standing.
Reconstruction and the Great Return
Mine clearance (ANAMA) and construction began on the liberated lands at the end of 2020. In July 2021 the East Zangezur economic region was created and the make-up of the Karabakh economic region changed (see the table). The airports at Fuzuli (26 October 2021) and Zangilan (20 October 2022) were opened; the Lachin airport was still under construction in the period of this lesson (it opened in 2025).
The Great Return is the programme for hundreds of thousands of displaced people to go back to their native places. New settlements are built on the «smart village» and «smart city» concept: electricity, water, communications and services are provided with modern technology. In July 2022 the first residents moved into the village of Aghali in Zangilan, and the programme widened in the following years.
- 10 November 2020
The trilateral statement; Russian peacekeepers are deployed
- 7 July 2021
The Karabakh and East Zangezur economic regions
- October 2021
Fuzuli airport opens
- July 2022
The first residents move to Aghali
- August 2022
Operation «Qisas» (strategic heights in the Lachin direction)
- 26 August 2022
The town of Lachin, Zabukh and Sus are returned under the 10 November statement
- 20 October 2022
Zangilan airport opens
- 23 April 2023
The Lachin border checkpoint
- 19–20 September 2023
The local anti-terror measures
- 15 October 2023
The state flag is raised in Khankendi
- December 2023
The snap-election decree; Azerbaijan is chosen to host COP29
- 7 February 2024
The snap presidential election
- June 2024
The withdrawal of the Russian peacekeepers is completed
- 11–22 November 2024
COP29 in Baku
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Ilham Aliyev | President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief; re-elected in 2024 |
| Ministry of Defence | 19 September 2023: announced the anti-terror measures |
| ANAMA | The mine-action agency; the precondition of the Great Return |
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| Provocations and ceasefire violations (according to Azerbaijan’s official position) | Operation «Qisas» (2022): strategic heights in the Lachin direction taken under control |
| The statement of 10 November 2020: a new road to replace the old Lachin road | The town of Lachin, Zabukh and Sus are returned (26 August 2022) |
| The alleged illegal use of the Lachin road | The border checkpoint (2023) |
| Mine explosions; armed formations staying on the territory (according to Azerbaijan’s official position) | The anti-terror measures; full sovereignty restored (2023) |
| Sovereignty restored on the whole territory | The election is held countrywide (2024) |
| Azerbaijan’s view that the peacekeeping mission was over (after sovereignty was restored) | The withdrawal of the Russian peacekeepers (April–June 2024) |
| The liberated lands full of mines and ruins | Mine clearance, construction, the Great Return |
| Feature | «Qisas» | Anti-terror measures |
|---|---|---|
| Time | August 2022 | 19–20 September 2023 |
| Area | the Lachin direction | Karabakh |
| Result | strategic heights in the Lachin direction taken under control | armed formations dissolved, full sovereignty restored |
| Economic region | Districts | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Karabakh | Aghdam, Aghjabadi, Barda, Fuzuli, Khojaly, Khojavend, Shusha, Tartar, Khankendi | Fuzuli airport (2021) |
| East Zangezur | Jabrayil, Kalbajar, Lachin, Gubadli, Zangilan | the Zangilan airport (2022), Aghali village (2022) |
Interactive
A source and tasks
In recent weeks Armenian armed formations have been laying mines on the territory, firing on our positions and repeatedly violating the ceasefire. This morning mine explosions killed our police officers and civilians. For this reason, local measures are being started in order to restore the constitutional order.
The aim is to disarm illegal armed units and remove them from the territory, and to neutralise military infrastructure. The civilian population and civilian objects are not targets. The command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent has been informed.
Source tasks
Problem
1) Name the event that the text does not name, its date and the body that issued the statement.
2) Explain one security reason and one political reason for this step.
3) Give two consequences of this event that are NOT stated in the text.
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Solution
2) Security (may be taken from the text): mine explosions, ceasefire violations and armed formations staying on the territory. Political (not in the text; from the lesson): in Azerbaijan’s official view the withdrawal clause of the 10 November 2020 statement was not being carried out, and an armed structure not recognised internationally continued to exist on Azerbaijani soil. Marks: both — 1; one — ½.
3) The armed formations were dissolved and full sovereignty was restored; reintegration talks were held in Yevlakh; the flag was raised in Khankendi; in 2024 the election was held across the whole territory. Marks: two consequences — 1; one — ½; «civilians are not targets», which is in the text, earns nothing.
DİM task: combination
Problem
Choose the items that were results of the local anti-terror measures (September 2023):
1. The dissolution of the Armenian armed formations
2. The restoration of Azerbaijan’s full sovereignty
3. The bringing of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to Karabakh
4. The reintegration talks in Yevlakh
5. The setting up of the Lachin border checkpoint
A) 1, 2, 3 B) 1, 2, 4 C) 2, 3, 5 D) 3, 4, 5 E) 1, 4, 5
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Solution
Step 2: cross out the options that contain 3 or 5: A, C, D, E drop out.
Step 3: 1, 2 and 4 come after September.
Answer: B.
DİM task: chronology
Problem
Put the events in chronological order:
1. COP29 is held in Baku
2. The Russian peacekeepers leave the Karabakh economic region
3. The snap presidential election
4. The local anti-terror measures
5. Operation «Qisas»
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Solution
Step 2: 1, 2 and 3 are all in 2024; order them by month: February — 3, June — 2, November — 1.
Answer: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
DİM task: «unlike X»
Problem
Choose the districts that belong to the East Zangezur economic region but not to the Karabakh economic region:
1. Jabrayil
2. Lachin
3. Shusha
4. Zangilan
5. Fuzuli
A) 1, 2, 4 B) 2, 3, 4 C) 1, 3, 5 D) 2, 4, 5 E) 3, 4, 5
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Solution
Step 2: options with 3 or 5 drop out: B, C, D, E.
Step 3: Jabrayil (1), Lachin (2) and Zangilan (4) are in East Zangezur.
Answer: A.
So the period after the victory finished the military and political results and turned to reconstruction. The country’s cultural and sporting achievements are in the next lesson: «Culture, science and sport in independent Azerbaijan».
Remember
- Operation «Qisas» (early August 2022) took strategic heights in the Lachin direction; the town of Lachin, Zabukh and Sus were returned on 26 August 2022 under the statement of 10 November 2020.
- The Lachin border checkpoint was set up on 23 April 2023.
- The local anti-terror measures were carried out on 19–20 September 2023; the armed formations were dissolved and full sovereignty restored.
- 2024: the snap presidential election (7 February), the peacekeepers’ departure (by June), COP29 (11–22 November).
- Reconstruction: the Fuzuli (2021) and Zangilan (2022) airports, the Karabakh and East Zangezur economic regions, the Great Return, Aghali village (July 2022).