An agreement was reached between representatives of Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh on a complete cessation of hostilities, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported. As the department indicated, the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent provided mediation in this matter. It is also reported that representatives of the unrecognized republic and Baku will hold a meeting on September 21 in Yevlakh.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that an agreement had been reached on a complete cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Through the mediation of the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, an agreement was reached between the Azerbaijani side and representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh on a complete cessation of hostilities. The implementation of these agreements will be carried out in coordination with the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan confirmed that the anti-terrorist operation in Nagorno-Karabakh will be suspended. At the same time, illegal groups will surrender all weapons and heavy equipment. In addition, negotiations on reintegration will take place tomorrow.
“At the proposal of the administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, on September 21, 2023, a meeting will be held in Yevlakh with representatives of the Armenian residents of Karabakh to discuss issues of reintegration based on the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” the statement said.
At the same time, Armenian Ombudsman Anahit Manasyan stated that as a result of the shelling of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, 32 people were killed and more than 200 were injured, including among the civilian population – seven dead (two children) and 35 wounded (13 children), reports TASS.
Russian peacekeepers evacuated more than 2 thousand residents of Karabakh
Along with this, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the Russian peacekeeping contingent has already evacuated more than 2 thousand people, including 1 thousand children, from the most dangerous areas of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Currently, there are 2,261 civilians in the peacekeepers’ base camp, where the medical detachment is located, including 1,049 children,” the statement said.
The department indicated that the RMK command is in close contact at the appropriate level with the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides, representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The prevention of bloodshed, compliance with humanitarian law in relation to civilians, as well as ensuring the safety of the Russian peacekeeping contingent are discussed,” the Russian Ministry of Defense emphasized.
Also on russian.rt.com “The Russian side calls to stop the bloodshed”: Zakharova on the sharp escalation in Karabakh
On the night of September 20, the Russian Foreign Ministry called on the conflicting parties to immediately stop the bloodshed, stop hostilities and eliminate civilian casualties.
Russian diplomats also recalled that Armenia recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the territory of Azerbaijan at summits under the auspices of the European Union in October 2022 and May 2023. It is indicated that this changed the fundamental conditions under which the statement of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia dated November 9, 2020 was signed, as well as the position of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.
“The main thing now is to urgently return to the implementation of the set of trilateral agreements at the highest level for 2020-2022, which spell out all the steps for a peaceful solution to the Karabakh problem, stop the armed confrontation and do everything possible to ensure the rights and security of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the statement says. Russian Foreign Ministry.
In addition, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov responded to reproaches from the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan, who accused Russia of failing to fulfill its obligations to protect Nagorno-Karabakh.
“We do not accept such reproaches against us, especially after the official decision of the Armenian side to recognize Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. De jure, we are now talking about the actions of the Republic of Azerbaijan on its territory. Therefore, such accusations against us are absolutely groundless. Not based on anything,” the Kremlin representative emphasized.
“Pashinyan’s actions caused a new round of conflict”
The current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh was the result of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan playing along with the United States, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Alexey Chepa told RT.
“All his previous actions were aimed at ensuring that this conflict escalated into a new phase. Let me remind you that three years ago, through Russia’s efforts, military operations were suspended. Russian peacekeepers maintained the situation and prevented bloodshed. The first person Pashinyan called was Blinken. Asked for help from the USA. Before this, let me remind you, there were agreements on holding joint military exercises between the Armenian and American military forces. This is clearly a provocation that destabilized the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,” he emphasized.
The parliamentarian also believes that the actions of the Yerevan authorities are coordinated with the Americans and are aimed at destabilizing the situation in the area and attempting to create a conflict and drag Russia into this conflict.
“We must do everything to ensure that the friendly, fraternal peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan do not suffer in this situation. Our peacekeepers are doing everything to prevent the conflict from growing. I think that today Moscow is making efforts to ensure that the conflict is stopped and we continue the further possibility of a diplomatic solution. But given Pashinyan’s position, it will be extremely difficult to do this,” Chepa emphasized.
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As Evgeny Mikhailov, director of the Center for Strategic Studies of the Countries of the South Caucasus, noted, the events in Karabakh are a direct result of the anti-Russian policy of Yerevan and Prime Minister Nikola Pashinyan personally.
“Dozens of demonstrations against the Russian military base in Gyumri, Pashinyan’s wife’s trip to Ukraine with humanitarian aid and joint exercises with the Americans did not add understanding between Yerevan and Moscow. After the signing of agreements in November 2020, when Russia assumed the guarantees of a peacekeeper and sent a contingent to Karabakh after the end of hostilities, Pashinyan, according to the agreements, had to deal with the delimitation and demarcation of borders with Azerbaijan. However, this did not happen. Moreover, Yerevan organized numerous provocations against Baku and Russian peacekeepers and immediately called on the CSTO to protect Armenia,” said RT’s interlocutor.
According to the expert, Pashinyan took a sharp course towards rapprochement with the West and the search for new allies, which were France and the United States, which were left out of work after the end of the Karabakh war, when Russia became the main moderator of the peacekeeping process in the region.
“I would like to note that as soon as Russia began the NWO in Ukraine, France and the United States took over Pashinyan’s apparatus and lobbied for the negotiation process between Baku and Yerevan on their territory in order to remove Moscow from participation in the preparation of the signing of the final peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It was Pashinyan who declared that Karabakh belonged to Azerbaijan. However, Yerevan’s provocations not only did not stop after this statement, but also intensified,” Mikhailov said.
He recalled that an alleged peacekeeping mission of the Council of Europe consisting of intelligence officers whose activities were directed against Baku and Moscow arrived in Armenia. In addition, the United States has sharply increased support for NGOs in Yerevan in order to discredit Russia’s actions in the region.
