Azerbaijan's latest cease-fire violations in Nagorno-Karabakh reflect its capacity to continue escalating the conflict with Armenia with relative ease due to Baku's superior negotiating leverage and military power. On March 24, Azeri forces crossed the line of contact with Armenia-backed authorities of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic, occupying the village of Parukh and forcing women and children from the nearby village of Khramort to evacuate. On March 27, Russia claimed Azeri soldiers had withdrawn from the villages. But on March 28, Azerbaijan denied doing so and said the area was its sovereign territory, implying Azeri forces remained set to conduct military movements there. The advance by Azeri forces follows weeks of elevated tensions with Armenia, with authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh accusing Azerbaijan of cutting natural gas supplies to the region....
