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On September 27th, clashes broke out between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in the conflict region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The intensity of the clashes quickly escalated becoming the largest escalation since the cease-fire in 1994 (larger than the so-called 4-days War in 2016). Both sides quickly announced partial or full mobilisation and introduced martial law on their territories.

In this episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Adam and Maciek catch up with Arkadiusz Legieć, an analyst on the Caucasus and Central Asia at the Polish Institute of International Affairs. They discuss the current situation and how the conflict is both an element of internal politics of Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as a key component of their foreign and security policies. They also discuss the role of third parties, such as Turkey, Russia and Iran and what their aims are in the conflict as well as the broader geopolitical consequences.

Resources:
- “Renewed war over Nagorno-Karabakh. Broader implications,” By: Richard Giragosian. New Eastern Europe, 30 September 2020: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/09/30/renewed-war-over-nagorno-karabakh-broader-implications/
- “Azerbaijan and Armenia edge towards full-scale war. Consequences and risks,” By: Vasif Huseynov. New Eastern Europe, 30 September 2020: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/09/30/azerbaijan-and-armenia-edge-towards-full-scale-war-consequences-and-risks/
- “Is a new war in Karabakh inevitable?” By: Benyamin Poghosyan. New Eastern Europe August 21, 2019: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/08/21/is-a-new-war-in-karabakh-inevitable/

Music featured in the podast: “Mountain Walk by Alexander Nakarada”; Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6382-mountain-walk License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Talk Eastern Europe is produced by Maciej Makulski and Adam Reichardt. The podcast is affiliated with New Eastern Europe, published by the Jan Nowak-Jeziorański College of Eastern Europe in Wrocław. Additional funding for this episode came from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs s in the framework of the “Public Diplomacy 2020 – New dimension” grant programme.