Azerbaijan could break the present stalemate in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region through military action as Armenia is weak defensively, said Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, Ahval news reports. 

“In broad terms, Armenia is in a weaker spot, so there is a chance for a military accomplishment that might end the stagnant stalemate. We can’t rule that out," Lindenstrauss told news website the Media Line on Tuesday.

Renewed hostilities broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh last week. The region lies within Azerbaijan’s borders but is controlled by the ethnic Armenian majority residing there.

Turkey, a close political ally of Azerbaijan, is making use of the clashes to display its recently developed military hardware, Lindenstrauss said.

“Turkey basically wants to increase its weapons sales, and is using this chance to do it,” she said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh since the 1990s when Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, declared independence after a war that left some 30,000 people dead.

The region’s status is not recognised by any country, and it is considered part of Azerbaijan by the international community.

“The solution is clear and obvious. Nagorno-Karabakh is an occupied territory and people know what needs to be done. The question is, are there global or local political factors that are willing to push both sides to where they need to be?” former Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan Arthur Lenk told The Media Line.