Russian peacekeepers sent to Nagorno-Karabakh after truce
MOSCOW — Dozens of Russian peacekeepers destined for NagornoKarabakh began deploying Tuesday, hours after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to halt fighting over the separatist region and amid signs the cease-fire would hold where others hadn’t.
The truce came after significant advances by Azerbaijani forces that the Armenian-backed leader of Nagorno-Karabakh said made it impossible for his side to carry on. It was celebrated in Azerbaijan, but left Armenians bitter, and many stormed government buildings overnight, demanding Parliament invalidate the agreement.
The two countries have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades, and therewere concerns the hostilities could escalate and draw in Turkey, which threw its weight behind Azerbaijan, and Russia, which has a security pact with Armenia.
If the truce proves lasting, it would be a major diplomatic coup for Russia, which appears to have brokered a deal where others failed and was in a tight spot since it has ties with both sides. Turkey also seemed to come out well, though it remained to be seen if it would be able to expand its influence by securing a higher-profile role in the peace process.
Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. Heavy fighting erupted in late September — the biggest escalation of the conflict in a quartercentury — and has left hundreds, possibly thousands, dead. That includes some 1,300 NagornoKarabakh troops, according to the region’s officials, and scores of civilians on both sides.
Several cease-fires announced over the past six weeks crumbled almost immediately, but the current agreement appeared to be holding.
It came days after Azerbaijan, which has claimed numerous territorial gains, pressed its offensive deeper into the region and took control of the city of Shushi, strategically positioned on heights overlooking the regional capital of Stepanakert.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist leader Arayik Harutyunyan admitted Tuesday that “had the hostilities continued at the same pace, we would have lost all of Artsakh (an Armenian name forNagornoKarabakh) within days.”
Armenian Prime MinisterNikol Pashinian said it was “extremely painful for me personally and for our people,” calling the situation a “catastrophe.”
But Pashinian said he was left with no choice and the army had told him it was necessary to stop the fighting.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called the agreement “a glorious victory.”
Thepactwas announced byRussian President Vladimir Putin personally early Tuesday, several hours after Azerbaijan downed a Russian helicopter thatwas flying over Armenia, killing two crewmembers aboard.