Ceasefire agreed in Nagorno-Karabakh
A ceasefire agreement has been reached one day after Azerbaijan launched a new military offensive against the local Armenian government in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian and Russian media have reported citing a statement from local officials.
The ceasefire agreement will take effect at 1:00 PM local time and will include provisions for the local Armenian government to disband its local military in what appears to be a major capitulation to Azerbaijan.
Both local officials in Stepanakert and in Baku have confirmed that representatives will meet in Yevlakh in Azerbaijan on Thursday for negotiations.
Azerbaijan, which has demanded the dissolution of the local government in Nagorno-Karabakh, has said that the talks will also touch on plans for the “reintegration” of the region into Azerbaijan.
The local government in Stepanakert did not mention any provisions to reintegrate the territory. In a statement, it cited an agreement to “pull out the remaining detachments and troops of the Armenian Armed Forces from the zone of deployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, to disband and fully disarm armed units of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, and pull out heavy hardware and weapons from the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh for the sake of their soonest possible disposal.”
Both sides said that the agreement had been mediated by a local Russian peacekeeping force that has been deployed in the region since war broke out in 2020.
Ceasefire to be implemented in coordination with Russian forces, Moscow says
Russia’s defence ministry said today that the newly-announced ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh will be coordinated with its troops.
“A ceasefire agreement between the Azerbaijani side and representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh has been reached through the mediation of the command for Russia’s peacekeeping mission,” the ministry said, according to the TASS news agency.
“The agreement will be implemented in coordination with the command for the Russian peacekeeping contingent,” it added.
Russia’s foreign ministry said that “the most important thing right now is to return without delay to implementing the package of trilateral agreements reached in 2020-2022, stop the armed confrontation & do whatever is possible to ensure rights & safety of the Nagorno Karabakh population.”
Europe hoping for ceasefire implementation, commission says
A spokesperson for the European Commission told reporters on Wednesday that Brussels hopes the announcement of a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh “will be followed up on the ground.”
“The member states and also international partners are dealing with it very intensively,” the spokesperson said, noting that senior diplomats are looking into the matter in Brussels while leaders are also discussing it at the UN this week.
“We expect immediate cessation of hostilities, and we also expect that Azerbaijan stops the current military activities,” the spokesperson said. The EU “is watching the situation very closely — and the member states will decide next steps in this context as we see the developments unfolding on the ground.”
Washington calls for de-escalation
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, spoke to Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, late on Tuesday and urged him to end military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The secretary emphasised that there is no military solution and that the parties must resume dialogue to resolve outstanding differences between Baku and ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh,” a spokesperson for the US state department said in a statement.
Blinken also “noted President Aliyev’s expressed readiness to halt military actions and for representatives of Azerbaijan and the population of Nagorno-Karabakh to meet, and he underscored the need for immediate implementation”.
The top American diplomat also issued a statement underscoring that Washington was “deeply concerned by Azerbaijan’s military actions” and that Baku’s moves “are worsening an already dire humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and undermine prospects for peace”.
Aliyev’s office, meanwhile, said in a press release that the Azerbaijani leader told Blinken “that anti-terror measures will be stopped if the weapon is laid down and disarmed”.
Blinken also had a call with Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, and said that the US “fully supports Armenia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity”.
EU stresses dialogue as Borrell meets Armenian minister
The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, has had a meeting with Armenia’s foreign minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, and called on Azerbaijan to halt military activities.
“The European Union condemns the military escalation along the Line of Contact and in other locations in Karabakh,” Borrell said in a statement on Tuesday.
“There is an urgent need to return to dialogue between Baku and Karabakh Armenians. This military escalation should not be used as a pretext to force the exodus of the local population,” he said, adding that “the EU remains fully engaged to facilitate the dialogue”.
After the meeting with the EU’s top diplomat, Armenia’s Mirzoyan said international partners – including the EU – “should take urgent action”.
Hostilities continue in Nagorno-Karabakh
Fighting is continuing in Nagorno-Karabakh this morning, with the death toll rising as western capitals condemn Azerbaijan’s decision to launch what it describes as an “anti-terrorist operation” in the area on Tuesday.
Nagorno-Karabakh is recognised internationally as Azerbaijan’s territory but has a mostly Armenian population. Tensions have been rising over the past months as the Azerbaijani government and activists blockaded the Lachin corridor, a route that connects Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over the territory, and there are growing concerns about further escalation.
Check out this useful explainer by the Guardian’s Pjotr Sauer.
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