Twenty-four hours after Azerbaijan’s army launched an offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, ethnic-Armenian forces have agreed Russian terms for a ceasefire.
Azerbaijan’s presidency said officials would meet Karabakh’s Armenian representatives for talks on “issues of re-integration” in the Azerbaijani town of Yevlakh on Thursday.
Leaders in the enclave said in a statement that through mediation carried out by Russian peacekeepers an agreement had been reached on a complete cessation of hostilities from 13:00 local time (09:00 GMT).
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has made clear his government was not involved in the ceasefire text, insisting that Russian peacekeepers have full responsibility for the safety of the local population.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia and its neighbour have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous, landlocked region in the south-west of Azerbaijan.
The six-week war in 2020 led to several thousand deaths but enabled Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, to recapture territory surrounding and inside the enclave.
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