End of war in Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a peace agreement

The Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev, as well as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the agreement, Russia will introduce its peacekeepers into the area of ​​hostilities, and Armenia undertakes to return the Agdam, Kelbajar and Lachin regions to Azerbaijan by November 20. The edition told in more detail with the BBC.

Photo: Shutterstock

“A complete ceasefire and all military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone are announced from 00:00 Moscow time on November 10, 2020. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, hereinafter referred to as the Parties, remain at the positions they occupy,” the document says.

In total, it is planned to deploy 1960 Russian military personnel with small arms, 90 armored personnel carriers, 380 units of automobile and special equipment. The duration of stay of the peacekeeping contingent is 5 years with the possibility of automatic extension. On Tuesday, November 10, 10 planes with Russian military personnel were sent to the conflict area.

“The peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is being deployed in parallel with the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces. The duration of stay of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is 5 years with automatic extension for subsequent 5-year periods, if neither Party declares 6 months before the expiration of the term its intention to terminate the application of this provision,” the truce agreement states. published on the Kremlin website.

“The text of the statement is very painful for me personally and for our people. I made this decision as a result of an in-depth analysis of the military situation and an assessment of the people who are best in control of the situation,” Pashinyan said in a message on his Facebook page.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev also addressed the people. He stated that the agreement meets the interests of the peoples of both Azerbaijan and Armenia. Aliyev listed the terms of the agreement and declared it a victory in the Karabakh war.

On the subject: Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh: why Armenia and Azerbaijan are at war

According to him, "the active military phase is over, the political phase is beginning."

“We have proven that there is a military solution to the conflict,” the Azerbaijani president added. According to Aliyev, “both Russian and Turkish military personnel will be represented at the peacekeeping center in Karabakh.”

What did the parties agree on

In addition, the document published by the Kremlin says that:

• Armenia is obliged to return the Kelbajar region to Azerbaijan by November 15, and the Lachin region by December 1, 2020. Armenia will retain the “Lachin corridor (5 km wide), which will ensure the connection of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and will not affect the city of Shusha” (Armenians call it Shushi).
• Refugees are returning to Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent areas, this is happening under UN control.
• Armenia provides transport links between the western regions of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic to organize the unhindered movement of citizens and transport. Control over transport communication is carried out by the border service bodies of the FSB of Russia.

“It's not a victory, but it's not a defeat either. There will be no defeat until you admit yourself defeated,” Pashinyan said. “We will never recognize ourselves as defeated, and this should be the beginning of an era of our national unity and revival. We must analyze the years of our independence in order to plan our future and not repeat the mistakes of the past.”

In fact, this state of affairs plays into the hands of Azerbaijan, and many experts argue that it was he who, in fact, won the war. Since, thanks to the capture of the southern part of Karabakh, Azerbaijan gained access to the Nakhichevan enclave, which had been cut off by Armenia long ago. And although the route to the enclave is essentially Armenian, it will be controlled by the Russian security forces. Also, Azerbaijan managed to regain control of the city of Shusha, which was the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan. This, in turn, made it possible to gain control over the important Shusha-Lachin highway.

Demonstrators burst into the buildings of the government and parliament of Armenia

Soon after it became known about the signing of the peace agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh, a mass protest action began in the center of Yerevan, the participants of which are dissatisfied with the terms of the agreement. Several thousand people gathered in the square in front of the government building, who broke through the cordon and burst into the complex.

Several dozen people smashed doors and windows in the building, and tore off a plaque from Pashinyan's personal office. Aggressive people break down office doors. A small group of determined people tried to storm government buildings.

“One of them has now broken into the building. People come in. So far everyone is generally peaceful, but very angry. Hundreds of people have now gathered in Republic Square. So far, most of them are behaving peacefully. Sometimes the crowd chants something, sometimes it just stands, cars passing by honk their horns. Most of those gathered are simply watching what is happening,” correspondents from the scene reported.

Those gathered demanded a change of government.

“These people consider these conditions and this agreement of Nikol Pashinyan to be a betrayal - or even a surrender of Armenia. They are confident that they must fight to the end - and are confident of victory. This confidence could be fueled by statements from Defense Ministry officials that things at the front are not so bad,” the journalists say.

The police did not interfere with the actions of the demonstrators. Some of the demonstrators in Yerevan went to the government dachas where Pashinyan lives. Law enforcement officers guarding the territory reported that the Prime Minister is not at home, and clashes occur from time to time between the police and demonstrators. In addition, demonstrators broke into the building of the Armenian parliament and occupied the meeting hall. “We demand Nikol Pashinyan. Who gave him the right to sign this?” said the protesters.

On the subject: Putin and Trump made a joint statement on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

A group of demonstrators also pulled out of their service car and beat the speaker of the Armenian parliament Ararat Mirzoyan. Now he is hospitalized with injuries, nothing threatens his life.

Loss of Shushi and downed helicopter

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh began to change rapidly after Azerbaijan managed to take control of the strategically important city of Shusha, which is located on the approaches to the capital of the unrecognized NKR Stepanakert. Aliyev announced his capture on Sunday, November 8. Armenia initially denied that control over the city was lost, but then admitted it.

At the same time, the Azerbaijani military on Monday, November 9, shot down a Russian Mi-24 helicopter over the territory of Armenia, two crew members were killed, one was taken to hospital with moderate injuries. According to the Russian defense department, the helicopter was shot down from the ground from a portable anti-aircraft missile system outside the war zone.

Azerbaijan apologized to Russia and offered to pay compensation. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said that the incident "was of the nature of an accident and was not directed against the Russian side."

Protests in Yerevan continue, politicians seek a way out of the crisis

The last night in Yerevan was stormy and nervous. After the terms of the peace agreement were announced, which effectively meant the defeat of Armenia in the war, the protesters destroyed the buildings of the government and parliament.

By morning everything was quiet, but then a group of protesters gathered again outside the parliament building, broke into it and demanded that the deputies gather and denounce the peace agreement signed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

These people consider such an agreement to be a betrayal on the part of the prime minister, not wanting to admit that it is the result of defeat in the war. They believed until the last that the Armenian army in Karabakh would survive and win. This belief was greatly fueled by the cheerful - and very far from reality - statements of the Ministry of Defense about the situation at the front.

They are not yet convinced by the words of the head of the unrecognized NKR, Arayik Harutyunyan, who said in a video message that if the war continued, the Armenians would be completely defeated within a few days.

And in Karabakh today there was silence - for the first time in 45 days. No fighting, no shelling. And the first columns of Russian peacekeepers’ equipment entered Karabakh in the morning.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• After the start of clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh Armenia and Azerbaijan declare martial law... Armenia reported the death of two civilians, Azerbaijan - the death of a family of five and the injury of 19 citizens. In addition, the Armenian military reported the loss of 16 soldiers and the injury of about a hundred more people. Azerbaijan has not officially announced the deaths, Armenia reports the deaths of 200 Azerbaijani soldiers.
• Into the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh a NATO member country can be involved.
• The conflict began in 1988, when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from Soviet Azerbaijan. After the armed confrontation in 1992-1994, Baku lost control over the region, as well as over the seven adjacent regions. Since 1992, negotiations have been underway on a peaceful settlement of the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, headed by three co-chairs - Russia, the United States and France.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump issued a joint statement. They are called on the parties to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh to stop hostilities.
• The ceasefire announced at 12:00 on Saturday 10 October lasted less than a day... The Azerbaijani side blamed Armenia for its disruption, announcing a new shelling of the city of Ganja, as a result of which a residential building was destroyed, at least nine people were killed. The Armenian military deny that they fired at the city and accuse Azerbaijan of violating the ceasefire.
• For the first time in the history of the conflict both sides admitted the strike... The Azerbaijani armed forces attacked the territory of Armenia, destroying the missile system ready for launch.

Read also on ForumDaily:

'Let's respect each other': how Armenians and Azerbaijanis live side by side in Georgia

Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh: why Armenia and Azerbaijan are at war

For the first time in history: the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh took an unexpected turn

Over 100 thousand Armenians marched in California to march in support of Nagorno-Karabakh

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.