ARMENIANS, AZERBAIJAN REACH CEASEFIRE ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Wed 20 September 2023:

Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh say they have accepted a ceasefire proposed by the Russian peacekeeping mission in the contested region, Armenian media 24News reported.

“With the mediation of the command of the Russian peacekeeping mission located in Nagorno-Karabakh, an agreement was reached on the complete cessation of military operations from 13:00 [09:00 GMT] on September 20, 2023,” 24News quoted Nagorno-Karabakh’s president press service as saying.

Earlier on, the Azerbaijani president has told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Baku is ready to stop “anti-terrorist measures” if Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh lay down their weapons, according to a statement published by the Azerbaijani presidency.

He told Blinken that the military incursion was triggered by Armenian armed forces laying mines in the contested region “for the purpose of terrorism” and targeting Azerbaijani soldiers with mortars and other weapons.

“President Ilham Aliyev stressed that these actions … were a continuation of deliberate provocations against the sovereignty of Azerbaijan by Armenia and the so-called separatist entity established and supported by it,” read the statement.

Armenia PM says ‘very important’ for ceasefire to hold

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says it is “very important” for the ceasefire to hold, hoping it will be ensured by Russian peacekeepers stationed in the region.

“We hope that military escalation will not continue, because, in the current conditions, it is very important to ensure stability and stop combat actions,” Pashinyan said in a TV address to Armenians.

Pashinyan says “the intensity of the fighting has greatly decreased” in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to information the Armenian prime minister says he had received from the ground.

Fighting in the city of Stepanakert has also died down, journalist Gayane Gevorgyan told the Armenpress news agency.

“People are still hesitating to leave their shelters. Only a few people have come out for some fresh air, so to say,” the reporter said.

Azerbaijan says it wants to reintegrate ethnic Armenians peacefully

Azerbaijan said that it wanted to integrate the ethnic Armenians of its Nagorno-Karabakh region peacefully.

Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijan’s president, told a news conference that the disarmament of Karabakh forces would improve the chances of successfully reintegrating the territory, which had been out of Baku’s control for three decades, as well as the prospects of peace with Azerbaijan’s neighbour Armenia.

He dismissed calls for UN Security Council involvement, saying any issues needed to be solved on the ground.

Azerbaijan says it has taken control of more than 90 combat positions

According to Azerbaijani media, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry says its forces have taken control of more than 90 combat and “strategically important” positions in Nagorno-Karabakh.

A ministry spokesperson was quoted by oxu.az as saying Armenians were leaving the battlefield in small groups.

“Conditions are being created for them to leave Karabakh voluntarily,” the spokesperson said.

Thousands of ethnic Armenians mass at airport

Thousands of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh have massed at the airport where some Russian peacekeepers are based after separatist forces agreed to a ceasefire which would see them surrender to Azerbaijan.

Separatists running the self-styled “Republic of Artsakh” urged the population of 120,000 not to rush to the airport in the capital which they call Stepanakert.

“We once again urge the population of Stepanakert not to succumb to panic and not to go to the airport on their own initiative in order to evacuate,” the separatists said.

Pictures from Karabakh showed thousands of people at the airport, some with young children.

Russia said its peacekeepers were performing their role. It added there were 2,261 people, including 1,049 children, sheltering at the peacekeepers’ base camp.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

______________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent