Russian Peacekeepers Deploy To Nagorno-Karabakh After Truce As Political Crisis Hits Armenia
According to RFE/RL, Russian peacekeepers are on their way to Nagorno-Karabakh to be deployed as part of an agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia to halt six weeks of military conflict over the breakaway region.
The first 200 Russian troops of the peacekeeping force arrived in Armenia on November 10 following the announcement earlier in the day of a Russia-brokered truce to end fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians in and around the enclave.
The announcement triggered celebrations in Azerbaijan but a political crisis in Armenia, where angry protesters stormed government buildings and parliament.
The move came after Azerbaijani forces made major battlefield gains, including reports that they were approaching Nagorno-Karabakh's main city, Stepanakert (Xankandi in Azeri), after taking the nearby strategic town of Shushi (Susa).
Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the ethnic Armenians who make up most of the population reject Azerbaijani rule. They have been governing their own affairs, with support from Armenia, since Azerbaijan's troops and ethnic Azeri civilians were pushed out of the region in a war that ended in a cease-fire in 1994.
Efforts to resolve the conflict by the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- co-chaired by Russia, France, and the United States -- have not brought any results since 1992 and three previous cease-fires signed since fighting broke out again on September 27 have failed to hold.
Armenian Prime Minister NikolPashinian first announced the trilateral agreement in a Facebook post, saying he had signed a statement with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan on the "termination" of the war as of 1 p.m. local time.
Pashinian said the deal, which includes the long-term deployment of Russian troops to the region, was "the best possible solution for the current situation."
"I made this decision as a result of an in-depth analysis of the military situation and an assessment of the people who know it best," Pashinian wrote.
Later in the day, Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman ShushanStepanian said military actions in and around Nagorno-Karabakh had ceased completely.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he believed the agreement "will create [the] necessary conditions for a long-term and full-fledged settlement of the crisis around Nagorno-Karabakh on a fair basis and in the interests of the Armenian and Azerbaijani people."
According to Azerbaijani President IlhamAliyev, the agreement amounted to a "capitulation" by Armenia.
Under the deal, Azerbaijan will keep territory in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas captured during the conflict. It also calls for Armenian forces to hand over some areas they held outside the borders of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the eastern district of Agdam and the western area of Kalbacar.
Armenians will also forfeit the Lachin region, where a crucial road connects Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. The agreement calls for a 5-kilometer-wide area in the so-called Lachin Corridor to remain open and be protected by a Russian force of 1,960 peacekeepers under a five-year mandate.
