Negotiations and Troop Withdrawal Process Underway in Nagorno-Karabakh: Updates on Reintegration and Return of Displaced Citizens

“Negotiations are underway with the Azerbaijani side under the supervision of Russian peacekeepers regarding the process of troop withdrawal and the return of citizens displaced by military aggression to their homes,” the separatists said in a statement.

On Thursday, the separatists and representatives of Baku held preliminary talks on the “reintegration” of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan through Russian peacekeepers, which ended with both sides agreeing to continue talks in the near future.

Armenian separatists agreed to lay down their arms under a ceasefire deal brokered by Russian peacekeepers on Wednesday after a day-long fighting.

Nagorno-Karabakh, which was part of the Azerbaijan SSR during the Soviet era, has been a “de facto” independent Armenian republic since the early 1990s. Although Azerbaijan has not controlled Nagorno-Karabakh since the collapse of the USSR, it considers the Armenian-populated region as its territory. The international community also considers Nagorno-Karabakh a part of Azerbaijan, and no country has recognized the independence of this region.

In 2020, the six-week war between Armenia and Azerbaijan ended with a ceasefire brokered by Russia.

According to the agreement at the time, which many in Armenia consider a betrayal, the Armenians lost part of the core territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as all the districts of the so-called security buffer zone, which had been under Armenian control since the 1990s.

An estimated 120,000 Armenians live in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The separatists’ statement said talks were also underway on “the procedure for the entry and exit of citizens” from the enclave.

2023-09-22 13:27:00
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