The President of Azerbaijan has put an end to military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Now “full sovereignty” over the area inhabited by Armenians has been restored, Ham Aliyev announced in a televised speech on Wednesday evening.
About three years after the most recent war between the two warring ex-Soviet republics, Azerbaijan launched a military operation on Tuesday to conquer the region. According to Armenian information, more than thirty people were killed and more than two hundred others were injured. On Wednesday, both sides agreed to a ceasefire, after which the fighting subsided, according to Armenian sources. The condition for this on the Azerbaijani side was that the Armenian fighters would give up their resistance.
Even before the latest military escalation, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh was catastrophic as Azerbaijanis blocked the only Armenian access road and there was a shortage of food, among other things. Russia is traditionally considered Armenia’s protecting power. But this time the Armenian leadership could not rely on the Russians.
The government in Yerevan emphasized that it was not involved “in the development of the text of the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh.” It was also emphasized that there were no Armenian troops in the region. Armenia has not yet responded to Aliyev’s statement.
Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh are worried and want to flee
The self-declared submission of Nagorno-Karabakh separatists to Azerbaijan’s central government has caused unrest among the Armenian population in the region. After the conflict parties declared a ceasefire, thousands of people on Wednesday headed to the airport in the regional capital Stepanakert, where Russian security forces are stationed. The separatist leadership called on the population to remain calm and not attempt to leave the country through the airport.
Under the agreement, talks over the future of the approximately 120,000 ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh will begin on Thursday. It is still unclear whether they will reach an agreement with the central government in Baku, or whether large parts of the population will emigrate to Armenia. Armenia had accused Azerbaijan of attempts at “ethnic cleansing”, which the government in Baku has rejected.
Source: Krone
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