Azerbaijan announces ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh

“The formations of the Armenian armed forces located in the Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan and illegal Armenian armed formations are laying down their weapons, abandoning combat positions and military posts and completely disarming. Units of the Armenian armed forces are leaving the territory of Azerbaijan, illegal Armenian armed formations are being disbanded,” the statement said.

The ministry added that the “illegal formations” in Nagorno-Karabakh are handing over all weapons, heavy equipment under the reached agreement that is being ensured by Russian peacekeepers.

Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman Anar Eyvazov claimed that Azerbaijani forces took control of 90 Armenian combat positions before the agreement on suspending activities in Nagorno-Karabakh.

No strikes are being carried out on the retreating “Armenian military formations,” the spokesperson stated.

“Conditions are being created for the voluntary retreat of the personnel of the Armenian armed forces accompanied by our technical means. In such cases, attacks on retreating military formations are not carried out,” Eyvazov said.

The administration of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday announced a meeting with representatives of Armenians in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh scheduled for September 21 to discuss reintegration issues in the city of Yevlakh.

“As proposed by the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the meeting with the representatives of the Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan to discuss the reintegration issues, based on the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its laws, will be held on 21 September 2023 in Yevlakh,” the administration announced in a statement.

On Tuesday, Baku announced the launch of “local-level anti-terrorist activities” in Nagorno-Karabakh aimed at “restoring the constitutional order.” Yerevan described the operation as aggression against the population of Nagorno-Karabakh and reiterated that it had no military presence in the disputed region.