Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense said the Armenian side agreed to leave combat positions and military posts and "disarm completely."
"Units of the Armenian armed forces [will] leave the territories of Azerbaijan. Illegal Armenian armed groups, [will be] dissolved," the ministry said.
The cease-fire was set to take effect at 1 p.m. local time with officials expected to meet in Yevlakh, Azerbaijan for negotiations.
"In some parts, the enemy succeeded in penetrating into defense army outposts, capturing several heights and strategic road junctions," the Armenian government said in a statement. "In the current situation, the international community's actions in the direction of ending the war and resolving the situation are insufficient.
"Taking this into consideration, the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh accept the proposal of the Russian peacekeeping contingent's command regarding a cease-fire."
Azerbaijan had been demanding that the Nagorno-Karabakh region be "reintegrated" into Azerbaijan and for the area to disarm. Azerbaijan and Armenia are former republics of the old Soviet Union.
Russia's Defense Ministry said Wednesday the deal was reached through mediation of Russian peacekeepers and would be "implemented in coordination with the command for the Russian peacekeeping contingent," the state-run TASS news agency reported.
The ethnic Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh government said the Azerbaijan attack had caused casualties and taken over some strategic locations, despite its efforts to keep them in Armenia's hands.
Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry on Tuesday said in a statement that the goal of its so-called anti-terrorism measures is to "suppress large-scale provocations" in the region. It said it would evacuate local Armenians.
Azerbaijan says aims for 'peaceful reintegration' of Karabakh Armenians
Baku (AFP) Sept 20, 2023 -
Azerbaijan said Wednesday it aimed to peacefully "reintegrate" Armenians living in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, and that it supported normalising ties with historic rival Armenia.
Baku earlier announced an end to its one-day offensive in Karabakh after reaching a deal with ethnic Armenian separatists, who agreed to lay down their arms and hold integration talks with Azerbaijan.
"Azerbaijan's agenda is about peaceful reintegration of Karabakh Armenians, and Azerbaijan also supports the normalisation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan," said presidential foreign policy advisor Hikmet Hajiyev.
He said Baku was "ready" for talks with the separatists due in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh on Thursday, adding that it wanted a "smooth reintegration."
The offensive was seen as a major victory for Azerbaijan, which won a 2020 war with Armenia and has since sought to repopulate Karabakh.
The ceasefire required the ethnic Armenian separatists to lay down their arms and surrender.
Hajiyev said Azerbaijan would provide "safe passage" for separatist forces.
"Safe passage to appropriate assembly points will also be provided by the Azerbaijani side," he said.
He gave no further detail on the "assembly points" or where the fighters would go.
The official also said that all of Baku's actions were coordinated with Russian peacekeepers.
Russia deployed peacekeepers to Karabakh as part of a deal to end the war in 2020.
Hajiyev slammed criticism of the offensive as "misinformation" and said there was no need for the UN Security Council to convene following its operation.
"There is no need for such a meeting," he said, adding that any such gathering would be "detrimental" to agreements between the two sides.
Related Links
News From Across The Stans
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
