LAST UPDATE: 15:30
A ceasefire agreement has been reached in Nagorno-Karabakh, Sputnik Armenia reported.
Armenians of the enclave agreed with Azerbaijan’s demand to stop fighting, to pull out heavy hardware and weapons, as well to disband and fully disarm the Nagorno-Karabakh armed forces.
The Armenians of the Azerbaijani enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh announced that they would lay down their arms today as part of a ceasefire agreement reached with Azerbaijan that took effect at 12:00 Greek time, following Russian mediation, one next day after Baku launched an attack on the disputed enclave.
“An agreement was reached to withdraw the remaining units and military of he Armenian Armed Forces (…) and to dismantle and fully disarm the armed formations of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army,” the Armenian separatist presidency said in a statement.
He also clarified that the pretalks regarding the “reintegration” of the territory in Azerbaijan will be held tomorrow, September 21, in the city of Yevlakh, Azerbaijan.
According to the separatists and Baku, this agreement was reached after the mediation of Russian peacekeepers, who have been deployed in the region since the end of 2020. The end of a six-week war, won by Azerbaijan, was finally achieved.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence confirmed, after the separatists, that the Nagorno-Karabakh forces would be disarmed and that a ceasefire would enter into force at 12:00 Greek time, less than 24 hours after the start of Azerbaijan’s military operation to regain control of the enclave.
“Armenian military units in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and Armenian illegal armed groups lay down their arms, abandon their positions and disarm completely,” the ministry noted, citing the terms of the agreement.
According to the same media outlet, the Armenian armed forces will leave Nagorno-Karabakh and the separatist forces will be “dissolved”, while “all weapons and heavy hardware” will be handed over.
The Azerbaijani Presidency confirmed that negotiations will take place tomorrow in YeYevlakh, Azerbaijan.
Armenia had previously announced that at least 32 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the attack launched yesterday by Azerbaijani forces in the disputed enclave.
“There are so far 32 dead, over 200 wounded, including 7 dead (including 2 children) and 35 wounded (including 13 children) of civilian population,” human rights official Anahit Manasyan said in a Facebook post.
According to the same media outlet, the Armenians of the enclave will meet with the Azerbaijani authorities on September 21.
