Putin’s Aide Compares Ukraine War to Artsakh, Triggering Azerbaijani Outrage

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide and head of Russia’s delegation in the peace talks with Ukraine, Vladimir Medinsky, caused a strong reaction in Azerbaijan with his statement. He drew a comparison between Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and the prolonged struggle over Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), a country that is now occupied by Azerbaijan since their last aggression in September, 2023. 

Medinsky made his remarks during an interview on Monday with RT, a Russian state-controlled news outlet. He warned that if a true and lasting peace agreement is not made between Russia and Ukraine, the situation could turn into a “giant Karabakh,” referring to the conflict zone in the South Caucasus. Medinsky said that if a peace deal only leads to a temporary truce without real resolution, southeastern Ukraine might become a frozen conflict area like Artsakh. He also suggested this could lead to a dangerous escalation, possibly even nuclear war.

He said, “If we don’t agree on a real peace and just sign some kind of truce… then it will be like that disputed region between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Karabakh. That region would turn into a giant Karabakh. Eventually, Ukraine together with NATO will try to take it back, and that will be the end of our planet, that will be a nuclear war. We don’t want to have a pretext, a giant Karabakh, recognized by nobody, over which a nuclear war might break out.”

Medinsky’s comparison quickly drew a sharp response from the government of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry condemned his words, saying they distorted the true history of the Artsakh conflict and falsely described the region as a disputed territory.

Aykhan Hajizade, a spokesperson for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, said in a statement, “The remarks by Vladimir Medinsky that distorted facts regarding the former Armenian–Azerbaijani conflict and portrayed the Karabakh region as a disputed territory, were met with regret and astonishment.”

It is important to understand that Russia has never officially recognized Artsakh as an independent state. Instead, Russia recognizes the region as part of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory. However, Russia has supported peace talks under the Minsk Group, led by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which includes discussions about the rights of Artsakh’s Armenian population to self-determination.

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry has not publicly responded to Medinsky’s comments.

To suggest that Artsakh is merely a “disputed region” ignores the centuries-old history of Armenian presence, which involved war and a struggle to defend the homeland against aggression. This simplification also plays into Azerbaijan’s narrative, which denies the right of Armenians in Artsakh to self-rule or recognition.

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