War in the Caucasus – Armenia and Azerbaijan end fighting – thanks to Moscow – News

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan have apparently agreed to end the fighting.

After more than six weeks of intense fighting in the South Caucasus Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to end all fighting.

The agreement came about thanks to the mediation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as announced by the Kremlin in Moscow. Russian peacekeepers are said to be monitoring the ceasefire.

Russian soldiers as guarantors of peace

The Russian Defense Ministry released recordings Tuesday night that were to show the preparation and transport of soldiers by plane to the crisis region.

Azerbaijani head of state Ilham Aliyev said that the deployment of peacekeeping forces was initially limited to five years. However, it could be expanded if both Armenia and Azerbaijan agree. Therefore, the contingent should be about 2000 soldiers.

The leader of the unrecognized Karabakh Republic, Araik Arutjunjan, defended the deal. “Taking into account the difficult situation that has arisen and based on the need to avoid further great human losses and the total loss of Karabakh, I gave my consent to end the war,” the 46-year-old wrote on Facebook.

The ceasefire went into effect at 1:00 am local time.

A long-term solution is sought

According to Putin, the agreement is the basis for a long-term solution to the Karabakh problem. So far there have been three ceasefire attempts. They all failed. But it is the first time that the heads of state and government have signed an agreement of this type.

Azerbaijani television showed live how Aliyev and Putin signed the documents in parallel. Originally, the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan should also be there. “Pashinyan refused to sign the declaration, but he will have to,” Aliyev announced later in a speech to the nation.

Armenia has practically surrendered

Pashinyan himself spoke of an extremely difficult decision. “The text is painful for me personally and for our people.” However, after careful consideration and analysis of the situation, he decided to sign it, Pashinyan wrote. Observers saw this as a surrender.

Clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh began in late September and claimed more than 1,200 lives. But the conflict itself is decades old. After the collapse of the Soviet Union some 30 years ago, Azerbaijan lost control of the mountainous region with around 145,000 inhabitants.

Since 1994 there has been a fragile ceasefire. Azerbaijan invokes international law in the new war and repeatedly seeks the support of its “sister state” Turkey. Armenia, in turn, trusts Russia as a protective power.

SRF Russia correspondent David Nauer’s assessment

What are the chances that this ceasefire will continue?

It seems like a solid solution. So after that, this ceasefire can be maintained. Mainly because Russia is sending peacekeepers. That is clearly a factor that should stabilize the situation. However, there are still risks. One of these risks is that many people in Armenia reject this agreement because they see it as a kind of surrender. Also, there have been attempts to stop fighting before, and these attempts have failed each time. Therefore, there is still some potential for uncertainty. But this time it seems that the ceasefire could be solid and that this treaty could spell the end of the war.