MOSCOW (AP) – Armenia and Azerbaijan say they have agreed on a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh from Saturday afternoon.
The foreign ministers of the countries said in a statement that the purpose of the ceasefire was to restore prisoners and restore the dead, adding that certain details would be agreed later.
The announcement was followed by 10 hours of talks in Moscow sponsored by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who read out the statement. It was suggested that a ceasefire should pave the way for negotiations on a settlement of the conflict.
The latest outbreak of fighting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian armies began on September 27 and left hundreds dead in the largest forest of decades of conflict on Nagorno-Karabakh. The area is in Azerbaijan but is under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since the end of the separatist war in 1994.
The talks between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who broke the ceasefire in a series of calls with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Armenia said it was open to a ceasefire, while Azerbaijanis would fight a possible battle over the withdrawal of Argo’s troops from Nagorno-Karabakh earlier, arguing that the failure of international efforts to negotiate a compromise left it with no choice but to try. Reclaiming territory by force.
Addressing the nation on Friday, the Azerbaijani president said that in almost three decades of international negotiations, “not an inch of progress has been made, not even an inch of the occupied lands have been returned to us.”
“The mediators and leaders of some international organizations have stated that there is no military solution to the conflict.” “I disagreed with the thesis, and I was right. The conflict is now being resolved through military means and the political medium will now come. ”
If a ceasefire is maintained it would mark a major diplomatic uprising for Russia, which has negotiated peace with Nagorno-Karabakh, co-chairing the so-called Minsk Group with the United States and France. Under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
The current growth also marked the first time that Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey had taken a high profile in the conflict, with strong political support. In the past, Turkey has supplied Azerbaijan with sophisticated weapons, including drones and rocket systems that have helped Azerbaijani forces advance Nagorno-Karabakh separatist forces.
Armenian officials say Turkey is involved in the conflict and is sending Syrian mercenaries to fight on the side of Azerbaijan. Turkey has refused to deploy troops in the region, but the Syrian War Monitor and three Syrian-based opposition activists have confirmed that Turkey has sent hundreds of anti-Syrian fighters to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Turkey’s involvement in the conflict also raised painful memories in Armenia, where the massacre, deportation and forced marches that began in 1915 killed about 1.5 million people because Ottoman officials feared Christian Armenians would join Russia, its enemy in World War I.
This phenomenon is widely viewed by historians as genocide. Turkey has denied genocide, saying the numbers have risen and that those killed have been victims of civil war and unrest.
Russia, which has a military base in Armenia, was concerned about Turkey’s active participation in the conflict. The two countries are linked by a security treaty that forces Moscow to support its allies if invaded.
At the same time, Russia has sought to maintain strong economic and political ties with oil-rich Azerbaijan and thwart Turkey’s efforts to increase its influence in the South Caucasus without compromising its fragile relations with Ankara.
Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have negotiated a number of deals to coordinate their conflicting interests in Syria and Libya and have expanded their economic ties. Last year, NATO member Turkey took delivery of Russian S-400 air defense missiles, a move that angered Washington and Washington.
A ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh would allow the Kremlin to block Turkey’s barricades, so as to lengthen its length in Russia’s backyard without compromising its strategic ties with Ankara.
While Turkey is excited to join the talks as co-chair of the Minsk Group, a statement issued by Armenia and Azerbaijan pledged to uphold the current constitution of the peace talks.
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