Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia sign peace deal

After heated disputes, Armenia and Azerbaijan announced to stop fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region under a deal signed with Russia. 

According to the international news agency, the deal has been made that calls for around 2,000 Russian peacekeepers and territorial concessions.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that he had signed an “unspeakably painful agreement” with Russia and Azerbaijan to end conflicts over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Pashinyan said in a statement posted on Facebook on Tuesday, “I have made a difficult, extremely difficult decision for personally me and all of us. I have signed a declaration with the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan on stopping the war starting from 01:00 (local time).”

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Pashinyan said he decided to sign the agreement based on a deep analysis of the military situation and “on the conviction that in the existing situation this is the best possible outcome.“

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev spoke after the agreement was announced. He said that the deal would “return our territories without any further bloodshed.” He said all military operations in the region that sits in Azerbaijani territory but have been populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians have stopped.

“Today, I am signing this agreement with pride! Congratulations to the people of Azerbaijan!,” Aliyev added.

On this occasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russian peacekeeping forces will be deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh and within the corridor that connects Armenia.

According to the Russian news agency, he also said that the ceasefire deal stipulates the exchange of prisoners of war and bodies.

Earlier on Sunday, Aliyev declared that his forces had taken Shusha, a city often called “the Jerusalem of Nagorno-Karabakh” for its religious significance.