The Seven Surrounding Districts and the Territorial Outcome

By the end of the principal Armenian offensives of 1993, Armenian forces controlled most of Nagorno-Karabakh and extensive surrounding Azerbaijani territory.

The seven surrounding districts commonly identified in discussions of the conflict were:

District	Principal wartime development
Lachin	Captured in May 1992; provided the land connection with Armenia
Kelbajar	Captured in March–April 1993
Aghdam	Main city captured in July 1993; most of the district occupied
Fuzuli	Large portions captured in August 1993
Jabrayil	Captured in August 1993
Qubadli	Captured in August 1993
Zangilan	Captured in October 1993

Not every part of all seven districts remained under Armenian control throughout the entire postwar period. Azerbaijan retained some areas, including parts of Aghdam and Fuzuli, and later recovered additional territory.

The captured territories served several purposes in Armenian military planning: they increased the distance between Azerbaijani positions and Armenian population centers, provided defensive depth, connected Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, and created potential bargaining positions for negotiations.

However, these military calculations did not establish a legal right to retain the territory.

The capture and continued occupation of the surrounding districts produced a profound humanitarian and political problem because hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani residents could not return to their homes.

The resulting territorial arrangement became one of the greatest obstacles to a lasting peace.