On September 28, 2020, major fighting broke out along the front lines of the decades-old Nagorno–Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Far from being a small skirmish, fighting is taking place along the entire frontline. On October 1, the U.S., along with Russia and France, issued a joint statement as the three co-chairs of the Minsk Group for an end of hostilities and the resumption of talks. However, neither side, not less Azerbaijan, which seems to have the upper hand right now, has shown a desire to return to the negotiating table.
This week marks the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Second Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia. By early November 2020, the war was over, with Armenia and Armenian-backed separatists defeated by a better-trained and better-equipped Azerbaijani military. Azerbaijan was able to restore its internationally recognized borders and end a nearly three-decade Armenian occupation. Russia brokered a cease-fire agreement on November 9. As part of the deal, Russia established a small peacekeeping force in the ethnically Armenian populated region of Nagorno–Karabakh.