After ceasefire
Azerbaijan plans “peaceful reintegration” of Nagorno-Karabakh
After the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh ends, the region will once again belong to Azerbaijan
© Siranush Sargsyan/AP/DPA
The guns are silent in Nagorno-Karabakh. Now Azerbaijan wants to reintegrate the region inhabited by Armenians.
After the temporary end of fighting in the disputed Caucasus region According to Azerbaijan’s own statements, Nagorno-Karabakh is striving for a “peaceful reintegration” of the area, which is predominantly inhabited by Armenians, into its territory. Baku has managed to “restore sovereignty” after its military operation against pro-Armenian fighters, said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a televised speech on Wednesday evening. Clashes broke out between demonstrators and police during protests in Armenia.
A few hours earlier, Baku and pro-Armenian fighters had agreed on a ceasefire. Nagorno-Karabakh’s de facto authorities said they had accepted negotiations with Baku to integrate the region with neighboring Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan under international law, but the area is predominantly populated by Armenians. In 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh declared itself independent after a referendum that was not internationally recognized and boycotted by the Azerbaijani minority. The now broken resistance of the pro-Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh represents a significant victory for Aliyev.
Is Nagorno-Karabakh losing its Armenians?
Observers fear, however, that a significant proportion of the 120,000 Armenian residents could now leave the area. Images circulated in local media showed a crowd of people outside the airport in the capital Stepanakert, which is controlled by pro-Armenian forces. The White House expressed concern on Wednesday about the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Escalation again
Attack on Nagorno-Karabakh: This is what the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is about
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been fighting over the enclave since the collapse of the Soviet Union and have therefore already fought two wars, most recently in 2020. At that time, after six weeks of fighting with more than 6,500 deaths, Russia, traditionally allied with Armenia, brokered a ceasefire agreement that forced Armenia to give up large areas forced. At that time, Russia sent 2,000 soldiers to monitor the ceasefire – but they did not prevent the latest outbreak of violence.
Russian peacekeepers evacuate thousands
According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow on Wednesday evening, the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh continued. The Russian peacekeepers brought 3,154 people to safety as part of an evacuation operation, including 1,428 children. On Wednesday, however, the Defense Ministry also reported that several Russian peacekeepers had come under fire and been killed near the town of Chanyatag.
Azerbaijani President Aliyev said in his televised speech that the “illegal Armenian units” had already begun “withdrawing from their positions.”
According to the two parties, talks on the integration of Nagorno-Karabakh into the rest of Azerbaijan are scheduled to begin on Thursday in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh.
Protest against the government of Armenia
In Armenia, meanwhile, there was loud protest against the government’s handling of the crisis. Demonstrators in the capital Yerevan threw stones and bottles at police. The security forces used stun grenades and arrested several people. The demonstrators had gathered in front of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s office. They accuse the government of abandoning the predominantly Armenian population of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Pashinyan had previously stated in a televised speech that Yerevan was not involved “in the drafting of the text of the ceasefire declaration in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Azerbaijan wins militarily
On Tuesday, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military operation in the Caucasus region after weeks of escalating tensions. According to the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities, Stepanakert and other cities were under “intense fire.” According to Armenian information, 32 people were killed and 200 others were injured. A representative of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, however, spoke of “at least 200 killed and 400 injured.”
While the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh appeared to be holding, Armenia reported an incident on the border with Azerbaijan late on Wednesday evening. Azerbaijani army units fired on Armenian outposts near the village of Sotk with “light weapons,” the Defense Ministry said.