Four years ago on this day, Nov. 9, the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan signed a document that was supposed to establish a ceasefire between the countries.
The war that broke out on Sept. 27, 2020, stopped at the positions the troops had occupied; the Armenian side ceded all seven regions adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan; Russian peacekeepers were deployed in Artsakh.
The tripartite document consists of nine points:
“1. A complete ceasefire and termination of all hostilities in the area of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is declared starting 12:00 am (midnight) Moscow time on 10 November 2020. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, hereinafter referred to as the “Parties”, shall stop in their current positions.
2. The Agdam District shall be returned to the Republic of Azerbaijan by 20 November 2020.
3. The peacemaking forces of the Russian Federation, namely, 1,960 troops armed with firearms, 90 armored vehicles and 380 motor vehicles and units of special equipment, shall be deployed along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin Corridor.
4. The peacemaking forces of the Russian Federation shall be deployed concurrently with the withdrawal of the Armenian troops. The peacemaking forces of the Russian Federation will be deployed for five years, a term to be automatically extended for subsequent five-year terms unless either Party notifies about its intention to terminate this clause six months before the expiration of the current term.
5. For more efficient monitoring of the Parties’ fulfillment of the agreements, a peacemaking center shall be established to oversee the ceasefire.
6. The Republic of Armenia shall return the Kelbajar District to the Republic of Azerbaijan by 15 November 2020, and the Lachin District by 1 December 2020. The Lachin Corridor (5 km wide), which will provide a connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia while not passing through the territory of Shushi, shall remain under the control of the Russian Federation peacemaking forces.
As agreed by the Parties, within the next three years, a plan will be outlined for the construction of a new route via the Lachin Corridor, to provide a connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, and the Russian peacemaking forces shall be subsequently relocated to protect the route.
The Republic of Azerbaijan shall guarantee the security of persons, vehicles and cargo moving along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.
7. Internally displaced persons and refugees shall return to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent areas under the supervision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
8. The Parties shall exchange prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons, and dead bodies.
9. All economic and transport connections in the region shall be unblocked. The Republic of Armenia shall guarantee the security of transport connections between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhijevan Autonomous Republic in order to arrange unobstructed movement of persons, vehicles and cargo in both directions. The Border Guard Service of the Russian Federal Security Service shall be responsible for overseeing the transport connections.
Subject to agreement between the Parties, the construction of new transport communications to link the Nakhijevan Autonomous Republic with the western regions of Azerbaijan will be ensured.”
Three years after the conclusion of the agreement, on Sept. 19, Baku attacked the civilians who had been under siege for 10 months.
Hundreds of people were killed and wounded, including children, women and girls.
On Sept. 24, 2023, Azerbaijan forcibly depopulated Artsakh.
In April 2024, the withdrawal of peacekeepers began, although they were deployed for a period of five years.
Forcibly depopulated Artsakh, hundreds of prisoners, including eight military and political leaders of Artsakh, Russian peacekeepers who left the border. Now how important is this agreement that was signed four years ago? Does it have legal force or not?
ABCmedia covered the topic. Details will be provided in the report, which can be found on our official page in the evening.
