Ceasefire begins between Armenia and Azerbaijan
The decision for a ceasefire was agreed upon after eleven grueling hours of talks between Lavrov and his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts – Z.G. Mnatsakanyan and D.A. Bairamov.
By IAR Desk
After almost two weeks of fighting Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to a ceasefire. The decision was announced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, which hosted the foreign ministers of both sides for talks on ways to end the fighting.
The decision for a ceasefire was agreed upon after eleven grueling hours of talks between Lavrov and his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts – Z.G. Mnatsakanyan and D.A. Bairamov.
The four points announced by Lavrov were: a ceasefire bebinnig from 12 hours 00 minutes on 10 October 2020 for humanitarian objectives for exchange of war prisoners, the wounded and the dead, which will be coordinated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The concrete parameters of the ceasefire are to be agree upon separately.
The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, will begin talks for the peaceful resolution of the conflict mediated by the OSCE- Minsk Group on the basis of the fundamental principles for a solution.
The sides confirmed that the format for the dialogue process remains unchanged.
Both Caucasian states have welcomed the ceasefire.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had spoken to both the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev earlier over phone.
Russia, together with the USA and France, is the co-chair of the OSCE-Mindk Group which had earlier brokered a ceasefire between the two Caucasian neighbours in 1994.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, populated by ethnic Armenians, has been simmering since 1989.
While Armenian Prime Minister announced that his country is amenable to talks, Baku has said that peace will be restored only after the full withdrawal of Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh and the region’s full reintegration with Azerbaijan.
