Armenians in Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region accepted a proposal for a ceasefire 24 hours after Azerbaijan began an offensive to take control of the historic enclave. The proposal came from Russia, explained the Armenian fighters resisting in Karabakh.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry confirmed that it has reached an agreement on a ceasefire with Armenian fighters in that mountainous area. The ministry said Armenian forces in Karabakh have agreed to “lay down their arms, abandon combat positions and military posts and completely disarm.” They assure that heavy weapons and other equipment will be delivered to the Azerbaijani army.
The Armenian separatist forces in Karabakh have had to bow down after Azerbaijan had broken the front at several points. There are dozens of dead and hundreds of injured, according to Reuters. Azeri troops have already seized several strategic high points and road junctions. Armenia’s appeals for help to partners like Russia have been in vain.
The self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh stated that, in such circumstances, there is no choice but to cease hostilities from 1:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday. They respond to a proposal from peacekeepers deployed by Russia: “The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh accept the proposal of the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent for a ceasefire,” the statement states.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, which began its attacks in the area on Tuesday. The alleged trigger was that some of its troops suffered casualties in what Baku claimed were attacks from the mountainous region that Azeri forces have blocked for nine months.
Russia, which in 2014 appropriated Crimea and in 2022 decreed the annexation of four other Ukrainian territories that it is still fighting to conquer, now defends that the legality of the land belonging to Azerbaijann predominates over the identities of those who live yesterday. Kremlin Press Secretary Dimitri Peskov referred to the situation in Karabakh. According to him, “de jure we are talking about Baku’s actions on its territory.”