Editing Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (section)

=== In the post-Soviet era ===
[[Heydar Aliyev]], the future president of Azerbaijan, returned to his birthplace of Nakhchivan in 1990, after being ousted from his position in the [[Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]] by [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] in 1987. Soon after returning to Nakhchivan, Aliyev was elected to the Supreme Soviet by an overwhelming majority. Aliyev subsequently resigned from the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU]], and after the failed [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|August 1991 coup]] against Gorbachev, he called for complete independence for Azerbaijan and denounced [[Ayaz Mütallibov]] for supporting the coup. In late 1991, Aliyev consolidated his power base as chairman of the Nakhchivan Supreme Soviet and asserted Nakhchivan's near-total independence from [[Baku]].<ref name="Azcountry01">[http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/32.htm Azerbaijan: A Country Study: Aliyev and the Presidential Election of October 1993], The Library of Congress</ref>

Nakhchivan became a scene of conflict during the [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]]. On May 4, 1992, Armenian forces shelled the [[raion]] of [[Sadarak District|Sadarak]].<ref>[http://poli.vub.ac.be/publi/ContBorders/eng/ch0701.htm Contested Borders in the Caucasus: Chapter VII: Iran's Role as Mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh Crisis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207061604/http://poli.vub.ac.be/publi/ContBorders/eng/ch0701.htm |date=February 7, 2012 }} by Abdollah Ramezanzadeh</ref><ref name="post">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/ Russia Plans Leaner, More Open Military]. The Washington Post. May 23, 1992</ref><ref name="coe">[http://www.coe.int/t/e/com/files/events/2003-04-Youth-conflicts/Nagorno_conflict.asp Background Paper on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict]. Council of Europe.</ref> The Armenians claimed that the attack was in response to cross-border shelling of Armenian villages by Azeri forces from Nakhchivan.<ref name="thestar">[https://www.thestar.com/ The Toronto Star]. May 20, 1992</ref><ref name="depart">{{Cite web |url=http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/erc/briefing/daily_briefings/1992/9205/078.html |title=US Department of State Daily Briefing #78: Tuesday, 5/19/92 |access-date=January 12, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908000405/http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/briefing/daily_briefings/1992/9205/078.html |archive-date=September 8, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> David Zadoyan, a 42-year-old Armenian physicist and mayor of the region, said that the Armenians lost patience after months of firing by the Azeris. "If they were sitting on our hilltops and harassing us with gunfire, what do you think our response should be?" he asked.<ref name="baltimore">[http://www.baltimoresun.com/ Armenian Siege of Azeri Town Threatens Turkey, Russia, Iran]. The Baltimore Sun. June 3, 1992</ref> The government of Nakhchivan denied these charges and instead asserted that the Armenian assault was unprovoked and specifically targeted the site of a bridge between Turkey and Nakhchivan.<ref name="depart" /> "The Armenians do not react to diplomatic pressure," Nakhchivan foreign minister Rza Ibadov told the ITAR-Tass news agency, "It's vital to speak to them in a language they understand." Speaking to the agency from the Turkish capital [[Ankara]], Ibadov said that Armenia's aim in the region was to seize control of Nakhchivan.<ref name="reuters">[http://today.reuters.com/news/home.aspx Reuters News Agency] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070112194254/http://today.reuters.com/news/home.aspx |date=January 12, 2007 }}, wire carried by the Globe and Mail (Canada) on May 20, 1992. pg. A.10</ref> According to Human Rights Watch, hostilities broke out after three people were killed when Armenian forces began shelling the region.<ref name="hrw02">[https://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/g/general/general926.pdf Overview of Areas of Armed Conflict in the former Soviet Union], [[Human Rights Watch]], Helsinki Report</ref>

The heaviest fighting took place on May 18, when the Armenians captured Nakhchivan's exclave of [[Karki (Azerbaijan)|Karki]], a tiny territory through which Armenia's main north–south highway passes. The exclave presently remains under Armenian control.<ref name="hrw01">[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027120149/http://geocities.com/fanthom_2000/hrw-azerbaijan/hrw-contents/hrw-azerbaijan2.html Azerbaijan: Seven Years Of Conflict In Nagorno-Karabakh], [[Human Rights Watch]], Helsinki Report</ref> After the fall of [[Shusha]], the Mütallibov government of Azerbaijan accused Armenia of moving to take the whole of Nakhchivan (a claim that was denied by Armenian government officials). However, Heydar Aliyev declared a unilateral ceasefire on May 23 and sought to conclude a separate peace with Armenia. Armenian President [[Levon Ter-Petrossian]] expressed his willingness to sign a cooperation treaty with Nakhchivan to end the fighting, and subsequently a cease-fire was agreed upon.<ref name="hrw02"/>

The conflict in the area caused a harsh reaction from Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister [[Tansu Çiller]] announced that any Armenian advance on the main territory of Nakhchivan would result in a declaration of war against Armenia. Russian military leaders declared that "third party intervention into the dispute could trigger a [[World War III|Third World War]]". Thousands of Turkish troops were sent to the border between Turkey and Armenia in early September. Russian military forces in Armenia countered their movements by increasing troop levels along the Armenian-Turkish frontier and bolstering defenses in a tense period where war between the two seemed inevitable.<ref name="slt">[http://www.sltrib.com/ Turkey Orders Armenians to Leave Azerbaijan, Moves Troops to the Border]. The Salt Lake Tribune. September 4, 1993. pg. A1.</ref> The tension reached its peak, when Turkish heavy artillery shelled the Nakhchivan side of the Nakhchivan-Armenian border, from the Turkish border for two hours. Iran also reacted to Armenia's attacks by conducting military maneuvers along its border with Nakhchivan in a move widely interpreted as a warning to Armenia.<ref name="Azcountry02">[http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/16.htm Azerbaijan: A Country Study: Efforts to Resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh Crisis, 1993], The Library of Congress</ref> However, Armenia did not launch any further attacks on Nakhchivan and the presence of Russia's military warded off any possibility that Turkey might play a military role in the conflict.<ref name="slt" /> After a period of political instability, the [[Parliament of Azerbaijan]] turned to Heydar Aliyev and invited him to return from exile in Nakhchivan to lead the country in 1993.