Armenia regarded Mountainous Karabakh as its natural frontier, that constituted the easternmost part of Armenian Plateau and sharply contrasted with the Azerbaijani steppes to the east, so without Karabakh the physical unity of Armenia would be destroyed. Armenia also appealed to the historical ties of Karabakh to Armenia with former even being the last stronghold of Armenian statehood and the cradle of Armenian national movement during the Modern Era. Armenians constituted a majority in the mountainous parts of Karabakh. Strategically Armenia considered Karabakh as a barrier between Azerbaijan and Turkey.