Armenia and Azerbaijan showed their readiness early on Tuesday to sign a pact that ends hostility in Nagorno-Karabakh. As Ahval reports, the document was signed with Russia whose peacekeepers will be deployed along the front line.
Russian President confirmed in Tuesday statement that 1,960 Russian peacekeepers will maintain peace and stability in Nagorno-Karabakh. Following the signing of the historical agreement, Armenia and Azerbaijan have obliged to stop the violence.
The peace deal cements some of the territorial gains made by Azerbaijan in the conflict that began in late September.
Armenians will cede the Lachin region, where the main road leading from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia is located. The deal signed with Russia calls for the so-called Lachin corridor, to remain open and be protected by the Russian peacekeepers.
For Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, the agreement becomes diplomatic solution. As he wrote on Facebook, the agreement followed “an in-depth analysis of the military situation” that has seen Azeri forces closing in on Stepanakert, the region’s key city.
Since the start of the violence, Turkey has thrown its firm support behind Azerbaijan in the conflict, saying it was ready to do whatever was necessary to eject Armenian forces from the region. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev confirmed Ankara will take part in the peacekeeping process.
The signed agreement calls for Armenian forces to turn over control of some areas it held outside the borders of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the eastern district of Agdam.
Several ceasefires had been agreed in October but were almost immediately violated. The agreement announced early Tuesday appeared more likely to take hold because Azerbaijan has made significant military advances, including taking control of the strategically key city of Shusha on Sunday.
