Crisis Chronology

ARMENIA

12/08/2023

Armenia and Azerbaijan say they are working toward a comprehensive peace agreement.

10/06/2023

Azerbaijan is now renewing longstanding calls to create an Azeri-controlled “corridor” across southern Armenia to Nakhchivan, a part of Azerbaijan that is separated from the rest of the country by a thin sliver of Southern Armenia. When Armenia cut Azerbaijan’s overland ties to Nakhchivan during the 1991 war, Azerbaijan created routes through neighboring Iran and Turkey to Nakhichevan.. Turkey, which has always strongly supported its ethnolinguistic cousins, the Azeris, also likes the idea. Linking Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan, and Turkey would create a pan-Turkic entity spanning from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean.

09/28/2023

President of Nagorno-Karabakh Samvel Shahramanyan dissolves the breakaway republic as of 1/1/24.

09/21/2023

Armenia and Azerbaijan clash at a meeting of the UN Security Council over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, part of Azerbaijan. Armenia says Azerbaijan’s month-long blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting mainly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, has left its people with dwindling food, medicine and electricity.

09/21/2023

Azerbaijan says it has retaken the Nagorno-Krabakh region. It now controls the region and many ethnic Armenians are fleeing to Armenia.

09/20/2023

Russian peacekeepers negotiate a ceasefire. Peace negotiations to begin 9/21.

09/19/2023

Azerbaijan launches new military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh that it calls an “anti-terrorist” operation that would targets only military installations.

06/28/2023

Fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers in Artsakh.

05/11/2023

The day before UN talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan to begin, fighting breaks out between them. Both accuse the other of starting the fighting.

03/05/2023

New clash in Nagorno-Karabakh.

02/16/2023

Armenia submits a peace treaty to Azerbaijan in an effort to end the decades-long conflict between the two countries.

01/22/2023

EU sends mission to Armenia to try to ease tension about blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh by some Azeris. Russia criticizes the effort as increasing tensions.

01/10/2023

Armenia has refused to host military drills by the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a Russian-led alliance of post-Soviet countries, in an announcement that reflects Yerevan’s growing tensions with Moscow.

01/10/2023

Armenia has refused to host military drills by the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a Russian-led alliance of post-Soviet countries, in an announcement that reflects Yerevan’s growing tensions with Moscow.

12/14/2022

Armenian parliamentarians of the governing coalition accuse Russia of fomenting a new war with Azerbaijan and criticize the conduct of Russian peacekeepers. There is a new crisis due to the Lachin blockade.

12/13/2022

Azerbaijanis who call themselves environmentalists blockade the Lachin corridor, the only route from Armenia in the renegade province of Artsakh. The protestors say they are opposed to mining in Nagorno-Karabakh; the protest blocks Karabarkh motorists. Artsakh officials report that Azerbaijan has blocked the flow of gas to Artsakh through Armenia.

09/26/2022

Negotiations continue, but tensions remain high on the Azeri-Armenian border.

09/23/2022

Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other of breaking the ceasefire.

09/20/2022

Armenian and Azeri negotiators meet.

09/14/2022

Fighting breaks out again despite the ceasefire.

09/12/2022

Fighting breaks out between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Each accuses the other of provoking it. Armenia calls by assistance from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Russia’s answer to NATO. Russia says that it has arranged a ceasefire.

08/03/2022

Renewed clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagarno-Karabakh region.

05/03/2022

Large protests against government. The opposition has accused the government of planning to cede Baku to Azerbaijan in the current negotiations.

04/07/2022

Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to peace talks and a joint committee on border resolution.

03/29/2022

Azerbaijan agrees to peace talks with Armenia that would produce a comprehensive peace treaty.

03/10/2022

Vaghan Khachaturyan is elected president by the National Assembly. The president is a non-partisan official with a seven-year term. Khachaturyan was nominated by the ruling Civil Coalition and the opposition Armenia Alliance, which together had enough seats in the Assembly to nominate a candidate.

01/23/2022

President Sarkissian resigns, saying that the office does not have enough power to influence government and policy.

01/14/2022

Turkey and Armenia begin talks to normalize relations in Moscow after decades of animosity due to 1915 mass killing Armenians by Ottoman Empire.

11/16/2021

Outbreaks of fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia as a Russia-brokered ceasefire is imposed.

11/08/2021

Pashinyan gradually cementing the authority of his government and displacing the more hardline members of the political class. This may lead to the opening of the Zangezur Corridor, a key route for trade. For its part, Azerbaijan has invested heavily in the territories it gained in the war. The increase in the price of oil has helped Azerbaijan, making it the economic leader of the South Caucasus.

10/14/2021

Armenia expands its case against Azerbaijan in the International Court of Justice, adding a violation of the internal convention on racial discrimination regarding Armenians. Azerbaijan denies the charge and charges Armenia similarly, but not formally.

06/20/2021

Pashinyan reelected

The Civil Contact party led by Prime Minister Nicol Pashinyan wins almost 54% of the vote, easily defeating the newly formed Armenia Alliance, led by former prime minister Robert Kocharyan, which won 21%, according to the election commission.

04/25/2021

A day after US Pres Biden calls the 1915 massacre of Armenians by turkey genocide, Pashinyan resigns, calling new elections.

03/28/2021

Pashinyan says he will step down in April to allow for an early parliamentary election by about 6/20.

03/10/2021

Pashinyan says that the army chief of staff who called for him to resign has been removed.

03/01/2021

Protestors enter government building to demand Pashinyan’s resignation. They leave in an orderly way. Pashinyan says he would be open to early elections if the opposition agrees not to elect a new prime minister before them. He also suggests a referendum on writing a new constitution in 10/21.

02/27/2021

President Sarkysan refuses a demand by Pashinyan to dismiss military Chief of Staff.

02/25/2021

After military leaders call for him to resign, Pashinyan warns of a coup attempt and removes the head of the army’s General Staff. There are widespread protests against his government by the opposition, which is calling for new elections.

12/01/2020

Azerbaijan completes takeover of land ceded by Armenia in peace agreement.

11/24/2020

The peace agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh leaves Azerbaijan in control of its whole border with Iran. Iran is unhappy with the deal because Israel and Azerbaijan share intelligence, The deal also allows Turkey access to the Caspian Sea. Russia’s support of its ally Armenia seems half-hearted, giving Turkey more room to maneuver in the Middle East.

11/18/2020

Turkish parliament approves troop deployment to Nagorno-Karabakh.

11/17/2020

Mounting pressure on PM Pashinyan to resign. The foreign minister has resigned over the course of the peace talks.

11/15/2020

Azerbaijan delays takeover of some regions as mandated by the peace agreement until 11/25, as residents flee and burn their houses behind them.

11/09/2020

Nagorno-Karabakh peace agreement

Armenia reluctantly agrees to end the war in mediation with Russia. Azerbaijan was steadily gaining ground.

10/26/2020

Another humanitarian cease-fire is broken.

10/24/2020

Armenian and Azeri diplomats hold talks in US. Outbreaks of fighting continue.

10/19/2020

Truce shattered by heavy fighting.

10/18/2020

Fighting continues. Azerbaijan seizes strategic bridges and dam near Iranian border.

10/13/2020

Fighting continues. Iran warns Armenia and Azerbaijan against allowing a spread of the fighting and also offers to mediate. Iran has a substantial Azerbaijani minority, much larger than its Armenian minority and has asserted that Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory. However, it is concerned about Azeri links with the US and with Israel. Turkey also offers support for Azerbaijan.

10/11/2020

Ceasefire shaky but holding.

10/10/2020

Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to a short humanitarian ceasefire in talks brokered by Russia. It is not an agreement for peace talks and both sides immediately accuse each other of breaking the truce.

10/09/2020

Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to negotiate in Moscow.

10/04/2020

Fighting expands to civilian targets in both Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh.

10/02/2020

Fighting continues, but Armenia says it is open to peace talks.

10/01/2020

Fighting continues. Both sides reject mediation. Armenia, which is in a military alliance of former Soviet countries, has accused Turkey of sending Syrian mercenaries to fight for Azerbaijan, which denies the charge.

09/28/2020

Fighting continues. Both countries have declared martial law.

09/25/2020

Heavy fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region near its capital. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accuses Azerbaijan of starting the fighting with a bombing campaign. Azerbaijan says Armenia initiated the attacks.

07/12/2020

Fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces on the border.

05/31/2020

Pashinyan and his family test positive for COVID-19. Armenia has about 9500 cases of COVID-19 and 140 deaths.

03/19/2020

Armenia declares a state of emergency due to COVID-19.

03/10/2020

Pashinyan leads effort to amend the constitution. One aspect of reform would be to remove seven of the nine judges of the Constitutional Court, those appointed before the protests. Those judges would be replaced by judges elected by the National Assembly. Opposition parties reject this as unconstitutional.

01/27/2019

Pres Sarkissian signs a law giving seven Constitutional Court judges financial incentives to retire. These judges were appointed by the government before the protests.

01/27/2019

Chairman of the Constitutional Court Hrayr Tovmasian is charged with two counts of corruption for acts he committed while Justice minister from 2010-2014.

01/14/2019

Pashinyan becomes prime minister

Pashinyan is appointed prime minister. The National Assembly approves a reduction in the number of ministries from 17 to 12. Pashinyan has to walk a tightrope between not offending Russia and making Armenia more democratic and transparent.

12/09/2018

Pashinian’s My Step coalition has about 70% of the vote in first announced results. The pro-business Prosperous Armenia was second with 8%, and Sargysan’s Republican Party ha 5%. Turnout was less than 50%.

10/16/2018

PM Nikol Pashinian resigns to call for new elections. The opposition Republican Party of Armenia (HKK) still holds a majority, though Sarkisian was forced out of office.

04/03/2017

European observers say there is evidence of voting fraud in Armenian election in which Republican Party of Serg Sargsyan won 49% of the vote. The coalition led by Gagik Tsarukyn won 27%.

04/02/2017

Voting for legislature in Armenia.

09/13/2016

Parliament, controlled by the Republican Party, approves businessman and former minister Karen Karapetyan as prime minister.

09/08/2016

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan resigns, a step toward the formation of a new government.

08/02/2016

Sefilyan supporters surrender to police after Sargsyan promises to create a government of national unity.

07/29/2016

Police attack protestors in the street, throwing grenades 7/17/16. Armed supporters of Sefilyan take over police building in Yerevan, demanding the resignation of Sargsyan and Sefilyan’s release.

06/2016

Zhirair Sefilyan, the leader of the New Armenia Public Salvation Front opposition group, is arrested on suspicion of plotting to take over government buildings. Rallies and protests ensue.

04/05/2016

Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to a ceasefire.

04/03/2016

Azerbaijan says it has halted combat operations against Armenia unless Armenia continues fighting, but that it will keep the territory it gained during the fighting.

04/01/2016

Third day of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan, spurred by a boundary dispute about the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

12/07/2015

Constitutional change is approved with 63% of the vote. It will take effect after elections in 5/17. Sargsyan's term ends in early 2018.

12/06/2015

National referendum on a constitutional change to a parliamentary instead of a presidential system. Opponents charge that this is Serzh Sargsyan's way of retaining power after the end of his second and final term as president. The referendum passes with 66% of the vote, and a 50.7% turnout, making it legal. The National Assembly will now elect the president, whose term will increase from five to seven years. The Prime Minister will now be commander in chief.

02/08/2013

Serzh Sargsyan is reelected

Serzh Sargsyan wins reelection in an election seen as acceptable, though there has been violence between police and opposition. Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh continues at a low level.

05/11/2012

Republican Party of Armenia, led by Tigran Sargsyan (no relation to Serzh Sargsyan), wins 44% of the vote and another party in the ruling coalition, the Prosperous Armenia Party, wins 30%.

03/21/2008

State of emergency, instituted after protests, ends.

02/21/2008

Serzh Sargsyan is elected president

Large protests over presidential election in which Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, an ally of Kocharian, was declared the winner. Opposition, led by Levon Ter-Petrossian, feels the government used state resources and manipulated voting and vote counting to influence the vote. Sargsyan was said to have 53% of the vote, enough to avoid a run-off.

02/01/2006

Negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh show signs of progress, with agreements on a ceasefire and a referendum for the region, as well as a safe-passage corridor.

04/09/2003

10,000 defy a ban and march, calling for Kocharian to resign.

03/05/2003

Robert Kocharian is elected president

Kocharian wins runoff with 67% of the vote.

02/19/2003

Robert Kocharian wins 48% of the vote, not enough to avoid a runoff. Second is Stepan Demirchian with 27% and third Artashes Gegamadian with 17%. Runoff set for 3/5.