Politics | Sep 30th 2023 Edition

Tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed Armenian-majority enclave in Azerbaijan that the Azeri army has taken control of. Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, promised to protect ethnic Armenians, but said that Karabakh’s decades-long status as an independent entity was over. At least 68 people were killed by an explosion at a fuel depot. The episode underlines the waning of Russian influence in the Caucasus. Armenia, long an ally of Russia, is pivoting towards the West. America said the Azeri show of force was unacceptable and told Azerbaijan to observe a ceasefire and allow aid into the area.