9/21/2023-|Last update: 9/21/202308:37 PM (Mecca time)
The first round of talks between… Azerbaijan And the Armenian separatists from Nagorno-Karabakh about the reintegration of this region, while Armenia accused Russia of failing in its peacekeeping mission in this region.
In a statement, the Azerbaijani Presidency described the talks held in the city of Yevlakh, west of Baku, under Russian sponsorship, as constructive, and said that they took place in a positive atmosphere, as the issues of reintegrating Armenians in the region, restoring its infrastructure, and organizing work in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan were discussed.
The statement added that a new meeting will be held “as soon as possible,” noting that it intends to send humanitarian aid, food supplies, and fuel to this region.
He pointed out that the importance of quickly implementing the points contained in its statement issued yesterday, Wednesday, regarding the suspension of what it called the anti-terrorism operation that the Azerbaijani army had begun the day before yesterday in Karabakh, was emphasized.
Peace Treaty
Regarding the talks, the presidential representative of Azerbaijan said that it is difficult to expect that all issues with the Armenians of Karabakh will be resolved in one meeting.
The media also reported – from the representative of the Armenians of the region – that the negotiations could lead to a peace treaty that would put an end to the conflict.
In this context, the Russian RIA Novosti agency quoted a representative of the President of Azerbaijan as saying that Baku had transferred a draft peace agreement to Yerevan and was awaiting its response.
In turn, David Babayan, an advisor to the leader of the Karabakh Armenians, told Reuters that the Armenians there do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan, and that everyone has abandoned Karabakh, including Russia, the West, and Armenia.
Babian added that they agreed to a ceasefire with Azerbaijan, but the details are still being worked on, noting that the issue of handing over weapons still needs to be resolved because the security guarantees that the Armenians will receive are still unknown.
On Tuesday, the Azerbaijani army launched a lightning military operation during which it seized dozens of military sites of Armenian separatists in Karabakh, and after Russian “mediation”, the Armenian militants agreed to lay down their arms.
The President of Azerbaijan announced Ilham Aliyev – In a speech he delivered yesterday – his country regained its sovereignty over Karabakh, and at the same time Baku spoke about Armenian militants starting to hand over weapons.
According to the separatists, the Azerbaijani operation resulted in 200 dead and 400 wounded in the region.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought two wars to control this region, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands on both sides. The recent Azerbaijani move seemed decisive towards putting an end to this ongoing conflict since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
Before the military operation carried out by the Azerbaijani army on Tuesday, about 120,000 people resided in the areas under the control of Armenian separatists in Karabakh, and according to Baku’s estimates, there was an Armenian force inside the region that included about 10,000 individuals, reinforced with heavy weapons, including 100 tanks and armored vehicles.
Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh transferred numbers of residents to their areas of deployment (European)
Accusations against Russia
Meanwhile, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today accused Russia – which has deployed a battalion in Karabakh since the 2020 war – of failing in its mission to preserve peace in the Armenian-majority region, and said in a televised speech, “I do not think we should ignore the failure of the peacekeeping battalion.” In Karabakh.
Pashinyan stressed that his country is ready – when needed – to receive more than 40,000 families from Karabakh, which means that Armenia can receive all the Armenians of the region. He pointed out that his country has reserved hotel rooms and prepared “everything” to receive the Armenians.
The Prime Minister also said that the ceasefire agreement announced yesterday remains generally valid, noting that there is currently no direct threat to the Armenians in Karabakh.
Pashinyan’s statements come as he faces angry demonstrations in Yerevan denouncing his government’s handling of the recent developments that ended with the surrender of Armenian separatists in Karabakh.
In the same context, the Armenian newspaper “Grabarak” said that Pashinyan confirmed that he would not resign from his position in light of the events in Karabakh. On the other hand, in a speech addressed to the citizens of his country on the occasion of National Independence Day, Pashinyan said that his country needs to be liberated from the conflict for the sake of its independence and future, despite the difficulty of this path.
Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani authorities confirmed that they are ready to send food and fuel to the residents of the region.
At the same time, a local official in Karabakh spoke about the city of Stepanakert (the region’s capital) being “filled” with “hungry and frightened displaced people.”
Separatist officials spoke about the evacuation of thousands of civilians from 6 regions in Karabakh – during the Azerbaijani military operation – and Russian peacekeeping forces indicated that about 5,000 residents were evacuated and sheltered in places where they were deployed.
Russian peacekeeping forces have been deployed in the region since 2020, monitoring compliance with the ceasefire agreement signed in November of the same year between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Moscow confirmed that a number of its soldiers were killed in gunfire during the Azerbaijani military operation, and President Aliyev apologized to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, during a phone call that took place between them yesterday.
#Karabakh #talks #Armenian #accusations #Russia
2023-09-21 17:52:03
