According to Azerbaijan, a ceasefire has been agreed in Nagorno-Karabakh. The authorities in the region therefore agreed to the demand to end the fighting and hand over their weapons. Russia mediated.
One day after the start of an Azerbaijani military operation, a ceasefire was agreed in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict region. According to the Azertac news agency, this was confirmed by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry after Armenian and Russian media had previously reported on it. The Armenian fighters will be given the opportunity to leave their positions and surrender.
The authorities of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), which is not internationally recognized and is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Armenians, have accepted a corresponding proposal from the Russian side, reported the Armenian news agency Armenpress, among others.
“In the current situation, the measures taken by the international community to end the war and resolve the situation are inadequate,” Armenpress quoted an official statement as saying. “Taking this into account, the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh accept the proposal of the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent regarding a ceasefire.”
Armenia: Were not involved in the negotiations
The agreement reportedly includes the withdrawal of remaining Armenian military units and military equipment from Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the disarmament of local defense forces. In addition, they are said to have agreed to negotiations with the government in Baku about the integration of the region into Azerbaijan.
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a video statement that his country was not involved in drafting the ceasefire agreement. However, the decision of those responsible in Nagorno-Karabakh was noted. Armenia has not had troops in the region since August 2021.
Numerous dead and injured
Azerbaijan launched an offensive on Tuesday that it calls an “anti-terror operation.” The country called for a layoff of arms and the abdication of the Armenian leadership in the region.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades. The ceasefire after the last war in 2020, in which Azerbaijan, which was highly armed thanks to gas and oil revenues, had already conquered large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh, was repeatedly broken.
According to regional authorities, 27 people were killed and more than 200 others were injured in the latest attacks. Explosions shook the area around the regional capital Stepanakert that morning. Although the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said the attacks would be limited to military targets, Armenpress reported that civilian infrastructure was also hit.
Even before the latest shelling began, the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh was catastrophic because Azerbaijan blocked Armenia’s only access to the exclave – the so-called Lachin corridor.
Good time for Azerbaijan?
The renewed escalation of violence was widely condemned internationally. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, among others, called for an end to the hostilities.
Russia is traditionally considered Armenia’s protective power and has stationed its own soldiers in the conflict region. Now, however, Moscow needs its fighters primarily for its own war of aggression against Ukraine. Observers had therefore already feared that Azerbaijan could use this unstable situation for military action.
The Defense Ministry in Moscow said its own soldiers remained in the region and continued to provide humanitarian aid, among other things. They are trying to support the civilian population as best as possible. There are currently 2,261 civilians at the central peacekeeping base, including 1,049 children. The troops also maintained contact with all sides.