Series of traumatic defeats has prompted a rethink in what was once seen as the most pro-Moscow of the ex-Soviet republics

With its waterfall, hot spring, orchards full of apricot blossom and a gorge through which the swollen Arpa River races, the town of Jermuk since Soviet times has been one of the most visited in Armenia. That was until just after midnight on 12 September 2022 when Azerbaijani forces surged over the border, advancing about 4 miles in a two-day push that left them in full control of the long mountain ridge overlooking the town.

“It was truly frightening. The forest was set on fire. It was like lightning coming down on us. It went on for two days. We did not know how it would end, and how to get our families out,” recalled Rubik Avakelyan, 69, sitting on a park bench.

Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev has met Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan for bilateral talks in St Petersburg

Azerbaijani officials have said the country could be closing in on a peace agreement with Armenia to end their decades-long conflict following its lightning offensive in September to take control of its Nagorno-Karabakh region.

In face of a decisive military advance, more than 100,000 people fled the mountainous south Caucasus enclave, which, following a war in the 1990s, had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia.

After Baku’s success in Nagorno-Karabakh, it could attempt to encroach farther, locals believe

The beehives were in no man’s land. After the border clash near his village in April, Geram drove down to the fields where his family has been farming for decades and kept a small apiary.

But when he got near, he heard gunshots. The Azerbaijanis were firing at him from their new positions on the surrounding hilltops. He ran back to his car and never returned.