Russia peacekeepers head to Karabakh
RUSSIAN began deploying 2,000 peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed a peace deal to end weeks of fierce fighting over the disputed region.
The Moscow-brokered agreement came after a string of Azerbaijani victories in its fight to retake the ethnic Armenian enclave.
It sparked celebrations in Azerbaijan but fury in Armenia, where protesters took to the streets to denounce their leaders for losses in the territory, which broke from Azerbaijan’s control during a war in the early 1990s.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the deal in the early hours of Tuesday.
Pashinyan described the agreement as “unspeakably painful for me and for our people”, while Aliyev said it amounted to a “capitulation” by Armenia.
The full text of the deal showed clear gains for Azerbaijan.
Its forces will retain control over areas seized in the fighting, including the key town of Shusha, while Armenia agreed to a timetable to withdraw from large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh.
A Russian force of 1,960 military personnel and 90 armoured personnel carriers will deploy to the region as peacekeepers, for a renewable five-year mission.
Aliyev said key ally Turkey would also be involved in peacekeeping efforts.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara and Moscow would jointly supervise the ceasefire at a “joint centre to be designated by Azerbaijan in its lands saved from Armenia’s occupation”.
He hailed the truce as a “right step in the direction of a lasting solution”.
The conflict over the territory – which has simmered for decades despite international efforts to reach an accord – erupted into fresh fighting late in September.
More than 1,400 people have been confirmed killed, including dozens of civilians, but the death toll is believed to be significantly higher.
Azerbaijani forces made steady gains over the weeks of fighting, sweeping across the southern flank of the region and
eventually into its heartland.
A turning point came on Sunday when Aliyev announced that his forces had captured Shusha, the region’s strategically vital second-largest town.
“The road to lasting peace is often harder than war,” warned George Tsereteli of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
“I therefore urge all sides to recommit themselves to peaceful negotiations, in good faith”.
The announcement caused outrage in Yerevan, with angry protesters storming government headquarters where they ransacked offices and broke windows.
Crowds also entered parliament and demanded Pashinyan’s resignation.
Police retook control of both buildings but the opposition called for a protest on Wednesday against Pashinyan, who came to power leading peaceful protests in 2018.
Pashinyan said he was personally responsible for the Karabakh “catastrophe”, but defended his decision saying the situation could only have gotten worse.
In Baku joyful residents took to the streets chanting “Karabakh! Karabakh!” and waving Azerbaijani and Turkish flags.