Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades. The region lies within Azerbaijan's internationally recognised borders but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. Heavy fighting erupted in late September - the biggest escalation of the conflict in a quarter-century - and has left several thousand dead. A Russian-brokered deal, signed by Putin and the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan obliges Armenian forces to leave areas in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. The agreement has sparked jubilation in Azerbaijan and furious protests in neighbouring Armenia. In the last few days, Russia has deployed almost 2,000 peacekeepers and armoured vehicles to the region who will remain there for at least 5 years as part of the agreement. But will it create the conditions of sustainable peace?

In this episode, Prof. John Doyle, Director of DCU's Conflict Institute, talks to Dr Donnacha Ó Beacháin, Associate Professor at DCU's School of Law and Government and member of the IICRR. Donnacha has been conducting field research in the region for over two decades.