Russian soldiers die in shootout after Armenian forces agree to Russia’s proposal to withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh following Azerbaijan advance

2023-09-26 00:22:24

XAVIER COLS

Musk

Updated Tuesday, September 26, 2023 – 00:22

The cessation comes 24 hours after the offensive of the Azeri troops began

Armenia agrees to Russia’s proposal to withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s advance

Several Russian soldiers from the peacekeepers that Moscow has deployed in Karabakh died this Wednesday when they were his vehicle was shot. They were returning from an observation post near the village of Dzhanyatag when they came under small arms fire.

Hours earlier, the Russian president had praised the work of his soldiers in the area, a task that has been criticized by Armenia: “Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh are doing everything possible to protect civilians, he said. Vladimir Putin in a meeting with the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi.

The incident came to light hours after Azerbaijan announced a ceasefire that, according to Bak, has been negotiated by Russian peacekeepers and that disarms the Armenian separatists who have controlled much of the region since the 1990s.

Armenians in Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region accepted a proposal for a ceasefire 24 hours after Azerbaijan began an offensive to take control of the historic enclave. The proposal came from Russia, explained the Armenian fighters resisting in Karabakh.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry confirmed that it has reached an agreement on a ceasefire with Armenian fighters in that mountainous area. The ministry said Armenian forces in Karabakh have agreed to “lay down their arms, abandon combat positions and military posts and completely disarm.” They assure that heavy weapons and other equipment will be delivered to the Azerbaijani army.

The Armenian separatist forces in Karabakh have had to bow down after Azerbaijan had broken the front at several points. There are dozens of dead and hundreds of injured, according to Reuters. Azeri troops have already seized several strategic high points and road junctions. Armenia’s appeals for help to partners like Russia have been in vain.

The self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh stated that, in such circumstances, there is no choice but to cease hostilities from 1:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday. They respond to a proposal from the peacekeeping troops deployed by Russia: “The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh accept the proposal of the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent for a ceasefire,” the statement states.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, which began its attacks in the area on Tuesday. The alleged trigger was that some of his troops suffered casualties in what Bak said were attacks from the mountainous region that Azerbaijani forces have blocked for nine months.

Russia, which in 2014 appropriated Crimea and in 2022 decreed the annexation of four other Ukrainian territories that it is still fighting to conquer, now defends that the legality of the land belonging to Azerbaiyn predominates over the identities of those who live yesterday. The Kremlin’s press secretary, Dimitri Peskov, referred to the situation in Karabakh. According to him, “de jure we are talking about Bak’s actions in his territory.”