BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 1. The April battles are widely regarded as the beginning of a qualitatively new phase in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict and are interpreted by many analysts as a strategic “key” that paved the way for the eventual victory in Karabakh, political analyst Azer Garayev told Trend.

According to him, the clashes first and foremost shattered the long-standing perception that the status quo was unchangeable.

“Although relative stability had prevailed along the line of contact after 1994, the intense clashes in April 2016 demonstrated that the military balance was not fixed and could shift at any moment. The Azerbaijani Army’s swift control over certain strategic heights and positions revealed that the real balance of power had changed. This sent a strong signal to both regional countries and international mediators.

From a military-strategic perspective, the April battles also served as a kind of ‘pilot model.’ At this stage, the use of modern technologies, particularly unmanned aerial vehicles, reconnaissance tools, and high-precision strike systems, was expanded. Flexible decision-making, coordination among different branches of the armed forces, and rapid offensive tactics were tested during the operations. This experience was later applied in a more systematic and large-scale manner during the Second Karabakh War,” he said.

Garayev noted that another important aspect of the April battles was their psychological and societal impact.