Last week, after talks mediated by Moscow, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, beginning 10 October, in order to exchange prisoners and the bodies of those killed during the conflict. However, both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the deal.
The decades-old conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as the Republic of Artsakh escalated on 27 September, with both Baku and Yerevan accusing each other of sparking military hostilities.
The international community, including Russia, France, and the US, have urged the sides to the conflict to return to negotiations. Ankara, on the other hand, has voiced support for Baku, saying that it is ready to assist Azerbaijan “both in talks and in combat”.
The Nagorno-Karabakh standoff began in the late 1980s, with the predominantly Armenian-populated region proclaiming independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, citing ethnic discrimination against Armenians. Baku and Yerevan waged a full-scale war for the area between 1992 and 1994, which claimed the lives of an estimated 40,000 troops and civilians from both sides. A ceasefire was signed in 1994, but the conflict remained frozen, and the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic still remains an unrecognised state.
Sputnik