News blog on the attack on Nagorno-Karabakh
Meeting ended: Azerbaijan aims to take power
Updated on September 21, 2023 – 4:27 p.m. Reading time: 22 min.
Nagorno-Karabakh: Videos are said to show the destruction after the attacks. (Source: t-online)
A ceasefire was agreed after Azerbaijan’s military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Now Azerbaijan announces victory over the Armenians in the region. The events in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Meeting ended: Azerbaijan aims to take power
3:46 p.m.: After the recent fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in the South Caucasus, the Azerbaijani winners and the defeated Armenians have ended a first round of negotiations. In the city of Yevlax, among other things, “issues of the reintegration of the Armenian population of Karabakh” were discussed, the presidential administration of authoritarian Azerbaijan announced today. There should be another meeting shortly.
Some separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh are apparently refusing to give up their weapons
1:07 p.m.: Following the agreed ceasefire, some soldiers who defended Nagorno-Karabakh are apparently unwilling to lay down their weapons. A video on social media purports to show the Armenian men apparently demanding that Nagorno-Karabakh continue to be defended against Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan invaded the Caucasus region, which is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Armenians, on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh finally agreed to surrender and hand over their weapons to Azerbaijan. The future of the local Armenians is now uncertain.
Armenia’s Prime Minister: Road to peace with Azerbaijan “not easy”
12:42 p.m.: After the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh has temporarily ended, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has called for pacification of the conflict with rival Azerbaijan. “Peace is an environment without interstate and interethnic conflicts,” Pashinyan said on Thursday in a speech to the nation on the occasion of Armenia’s Independence Day. “This path is not easy, but we must take it.” He further said: “One must value peace and not confuse peace with ceasefire and truce.”
According to Azerbaijani state media, negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia began on Thursday but ended after a few hours. The specific results are unclear.
EU demands security guarantees for Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh
12.40 p.m.: After the military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the EU is demanding security guarantees for the Armenians living there. EU Council President Charles Michel made it clear in a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that his country must ensure that ethnic Armenians are respected and have a future in Azerbaijan, a senior EU official said on Thursday. Conditions for safe and voluntary departure must be created for those who wanted to leave Nagorno-Karabakh.
Regarding Aliyev’s position in the conversation, the official said that he had rejected international mediation in the conflict and reiterated that the military operation was justified. Azerbaijan is therefore now interested in continuing the “reintegration” of the area into Azerbaijan and would consider an amnesty for those who have laid down their arms.
