At the heart of the conflict that has led
to dozens of deaths in the past week
is the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh is region
of Azerbaijan mostly comprised
of ethnic Armenians.
After the fall of the Soviet Union,
Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence from
Azerbaijan that has not been recognized internationally.
"Conflict has marked the region for the last three decades. The most recent is said to be the most severe since 1994.
We are definitely one step away from a large-scale war in the region." Olesya Vartanyan, International Crisis Group, via CBS News.
Turkey has backed Azerbaijan in the conflict.
Russia is allied militarily with Armenia,
though the nation has sold arms to both countries.
According to the Armenian
Ministry of Defense, one of the country's jets was shot down by a Turkish F-16.
F-16s in Turkey have been purchased from the U.S.
The U.S. has remained unusually
hands-off concerning the conflict.
"The flare-up can also be seen as a symptom of a world in which the U.S. is no longer acting to defuse
regional conflicts." Thomas de Waal, Carnegie Europe,
via CBS News