The dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running conflict that accompanied the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. War over the territory broke out in 1992 between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. While a ceasefire in 1994 ended the fighting, decades of negotiations have failed to resolve the conflict.

Our guest this week is Olesya Vartanyan, Crisis Group’s Analyst for Europe’s Eastern Neighbourhood. She explains that grievances and tensions had existed long before the conflict erupted, and that recent calm only papers over years of stalemate that have entrenched positions and isolated Armenians and Azerbaijanis from one another.

But could there be a way out of the current deadlock? Have a listen to find out.

For more information on this conflict, see our recent report: Digging out of Deadlock in Nagorno-Karabakh (https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/caucasus/nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan/255-digging-out-deadlock-nagorno-karabakh) and our Visual Explainer (https://www.crisisgroup.org/content/nagorno-karabakh-conflict-visual-explainer), which maps developments since 2015.