The imperfect congruence of ethnic and political borders in the South Caucasus is the primary cause of the long-running conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But it is also a major reason why both the participants in that fight as well as outside powers routinely focus on the issue of local ethnic minorities to try to gain leverage over the situation. This is despite the ethnic sorting that has, in fact, occurred over the last century, leaving both states overwhelmingly homogeneous (the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani Karabakh notwithstanding). Thirty years ago, some in Azerbaijan and the Soviet Union saw the Kurdish community in Armenia as a potential tool to force a solution of the Karabakh dispute. Now, Armenia and the Russian Federation are increasingly seeking to use the ethnic minorities in Azerbaijan against Baku. Their success has been both limited and mixed, but both Yerevan and Moscow seem committed to continuing their efforts in this regard.
OP-ED
Paul Goble: Armenia, Russia seeking to exploit ethnic minorities against Baku
A man stands among the debris of a destroyed house hit by a rocket strike during the ongoing military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, in a residential area of the city of Ganja, Azerbaijan, on Oct. 21, 2020.
