Putin Intervenes in Nagorno-Karabakh, Ceasefire Declared
Stepanakert, Azerbaijan – Russian President Vladimir Putin brokered a โceasefire agreement between Armenia โand โAzerbaijan on 2023/09/20, halting a 24-hour โmilitary offensiveโ launched โby Azerbaijan against the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Theโค agreement โฃcomes after Azerbaijan successfullyโ seized control of key military positions and infrastructure within the region,โค populated predominantly โฃby ethnic Armenians.
The rapid collapse of Armenian defenses and theโ subsequent ceasefire signal a notableโ geopolitical โฃshift in the South Caucasus,effectively ending โover โthree decadesโข of Armenian control over Nagorno-Karabakh. The agreement โmandates the disarmament ofโ armenian forces in โคthe region and opens the door for negotiations regarding the โfuture โขstatusโ of the Armenian population-approximately 100,000 residents-living within Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders. This outcome represents a major foreign policy failure for Russia, โtraditionally seen as Armenia’s security guarantor, and raises concernsโข about Moscow’s diminishing influence โin the region amid its ongoing war โin ukraine.
azerbaijan initiated the offensive following months โคof escalatingโฃ tensions and repeated accusations of Armenian violations of the ceasefire agreement established after theโ 2020 war. โ Azerbaijaniโ President Ilham Aliyev stated theโข operation was aimed at disarming Armenian forces and restoring azerbaijan’sโ territorial integrity.Armenian โฃPrime minister Nikol Pashinyan, facing mountingโ domestic pressure and criticism over his government’s reliance on Russia, reluctantly agreed toโ the ceasefire terms.
The ceasefire agreement stipulates that Armenian โคtroops will lay down their arms by 2023/09/20, and negotiations between โBaku โand representatives of the Armenianโข population of Nagorno-Karabakh will begin in the coming weeks to discuss โtheir rights and security guarantees.โข The agreement does not โaddress the long-term political status of the region, leaving the future of the Armenian population uncertain. International observers have expressed concern over potential human rights violationsโค and the possibility of ethnic cleansing as Azerbaijan consolidates its โฃcontrol.
Nagorno-Karabakh,aโฃ mountainous region โwithin azerbaijan,has been at the center of aโ decades-long conflict โsince โthe collapse of the soviet Union. โค The region declared independence inโ the early 1990s, leading to aโฃ war that โresulted โin Armenian control over Nagorno-Karabakhโค and surroundingโข territories. The 2020 โฃwar saw Azerbaijanโ regain significant territory, and the recent offensive marks theโฃ culmination ofโ Azerbaijan’s effortsโฃ to reassert full sovereigntyโ over the region. โRussia has maintained a peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh since โ2020,โ but its failure โto prevent the latest escalation has prompted questions about its commitment to the regionโ and its ability to act as an effective mediator.