Azerbaijan Suspends Anti-Terrorist Activities in Karabakh: Defence Ministry
14:50 20.09.2023 (Updated: 11:20 21.09.2023)
© AP Photo / Sergei Grits
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On Tuesday, Azerbaijan launched local "anti-terrorist activities" in Nagorno-Karabakh to "restore the constitutional order".
The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry announced the suspension of anti-terrorist activities in Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday.
Azerbaijan’s forces took control of 90 Armenian combat positions before the agreement to suspend the operation was reached, the ministry said.
Same Wednesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's administration declared that a meeting with the Armenian representatives of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh will be held in the city of Yevlakh on 21 September to discuss reintegration issues.
"As proposed by the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the meeting with the representatives of the Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan to discuss the reintegration issues, based on the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its laws, will be held on 21 September 2023 in Yevlakh," the administration said in a statement.
Russian Peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh in Touch With Azerbaijan, Armenia
The Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh is in contact with both Yerevan and Baku, discussing the prevention of bloodshed in the region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
"The command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent is in close contact at the appropriate level with the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides, representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh. The prevention of bloodshed, compliance with the norms of humanitarian law in relation to the civilian population, as well as ensuring the safety of the Russian peacekeeping contingent are discussed," the ministry stated.
Despite the aggravated conditions, Russian peacekeepers are fulfilling their duties in Nagorno-Karabakh, as confirmed by the ministry. Their base camp is currently providing shelter to a total of 2,261 civilians, among whom there are 1,049 children.
Azerbaijan's Plan for Reintegration of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh Ready
Baku's plan for the reintegration of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh is ready, assistant of the President of Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajiyev, said on Wednesday.
"Our socio-economic reintegration plan is ready. It has been prepared by the relevant departments," Hajiyev told a briefing for representatives of the diplomatic corps in Baku.
Azerbaijan received guarantees that the "illegal formations of Armenia" will be disarmed, the official said.
"The presence of about 10,000 Armenian illegal armed groups in Karabakh was unacceptable… Azerbaijan has received guarantees that the illegal Armenian armed formations in Karabakh will be disarmed, military equipment will be transferred to Baku," Hajiyev said.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region wedged in between the two nations that is seeking independence from Baku. The decades-long conflict reignited in the fall of 2020, marking the worst escalation since the 1990s. Hostilities ended in a Russia-brokered ceasefire and the deployment of Russian peacekeepers to the region.
Yerevan and Baku began discussing a future peace treaty in 2022 with mediation from Russia, the European Union and the United States. In May, the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Yerevan was ready to recognise Azerbaijan's territorial integrity within boundaries that include Nagorno-Karabakh. The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, stated that a peace treaty could be signed by the year's end, provided Armenia does not alter its stance.
