Acknowledge the 1991 Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh Vote for Independence Just Like Kosovo/Montenegro/Scotland etc.

Even Azeris and Turks acknowledge that at the breakup of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, over 90% of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh’s people were Armenian. Clearly if a democratic vote were held just among the people of Artsakh, they would either vote for independence or to join Armenia. For this reason, the Azeris and Turks might concede to a democratic vote but have demanded for decades that all the people of Azerbaijan have the right to vote on what happens to Artsakh.

Allowing non-locals to vote violates the norms of democracy. In all the following examples, non-locals were not allowed to vote on independence: Kosovo, Montenegro, Scotland, Quebec, and Puerto Rico. Non-Puerto Rican Americans did not ever vote on whether Puerto Rico may become independent, nor would they have a right to. Similarly, Azeris outside of Artsakh have no right to vote on Artsakh’s future.

In the specific example of Artsakh, Armenians have indeed controlled land outside of Artsakh in Azerbaijan since the 1990s. Frankly, after Azeris attacking Armenians in Artsakh to deny them self-determination in the 1990s, Armenians have a right to establish a safety buffer. If Azeris/Turks want those borderlands back, all the Azeris/Turks have to do is recognize Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh’s vote for independence in 1991, peacefully respect the international border between Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh and Azerbaijan, and not attack the people of…