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Cease-fire announced in Nagorno-Karabakh amid diplomatic efforts Cease-fire announced in Nagorno-Karabakh amid diplomatic efforts
(about 4 hours later)
MOSCOW — Azerbaijan and the Armenian-backed breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday announced a cease-fire effective immediately in a bid to halt the worst outbreak of violence over the disputed territory in decades. MOSCOW — Amid strident calls from world leaders for restraint, Azerbaijan and the Armenian-backed breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday announced an immediate cease-fire to halt the worst outbreak of violence over the disputed territory in decades.
At least 50 people have died since heavy fighting resumed on the front lines of one of the former Soviet Union’s most intractable ethnic conflicts, pitting Christian Armenians against Muslim Azeris. On Tuesday, officials from the ministries of defense from both Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave that is formally a part of Azerbaijan but has been de facto independent since 1994, said in statements that the ceasefire went into effect at noon Tuesday. At least 50 people have died since heavy fighting resumed last Saturday on the front lines of one of the former Soviet Union’s most intractable ethnic conflicts, pitting Christian Armenians against Muslim Azeris. The cease-fire was declared at noon Tuesday by officials from Azerbaijan and from the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave that is formally a part of Azerbaijan but has its own government with military and financial support from the Armenian government.
News reports from the front lines on Tuesday said that the fighting had indeed died down, although it was unclear how long the temporary halt in hostilities would hold. The Associated Press said that a reporter had heard shelling on Tuesday morning but no sound of fighting in the early afternoon, after the ceasefire was scheduled to come into effect. News reports from the front lines on Tuesday said that the fighting, which included tanks, heavy artillery and aircraft at its peak, had indeed died down. But it was unclear how long the temporary halt in hostilities would hold, as officials from the United States, France and Russia planned trips to the region later this week to mediate between the sides of the conflict.
[The crisis over Nagorno-Karabakh, explained][The crisis over Nagorno-Karabakh, explained]
The heavy fighting, which has included tanks, artillery and aircraft, has prompted calls from Russia and the West for restraint by both sides. The OSCE Permanent Council convened special talks on the conflict on Tuesday and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters that the United States, Russia and France would send envoys to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in order to negotiate a cessation of hostilities. The United States, France and Russia are the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is tasked with mediating the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh with Azerbaijan and Armenia. Backed by Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence from Azerbaijan as the Soviet Union collapsed, and the bloody war that followed left about 30,000 dead and an unclear future for the territory. A cease-fire was signed in 1994, but years of negotiations under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have failed to yield a long-term political solution to the conflict. Sporadic fighting has continued along the “line of contact” between the two sides, though never with the ferocity seen this week.
Russia, which is a member of a security pact with Armenia and sells arms to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, will attempt to mediate with both sides. Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev will visit Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, on Thursday, on the same day as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to be in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. “Everyone understands that the status quo is not only unacceptable, but also unsustainable, and it cannot last for another two decades like it has been,”said Azerbajani ambassador to the United States Elin Suleymanov in a telephone interview. The Azerbaijani government is frustrated with the slow pace of the negotiations for a political settlement, he said, and wants to see a complete withdrawal of ethnic Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh.
[Azerbaijan declares cease-fire, but fighting continues in breakaway enclave] The cause of this week’s violence is disputed. Officials from Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh territory said that Azerbaijan launched a broad offensive on Saturday, prompting a counter-attack. Suleymanov said that Azerbaijani forces were forced to seize strategic heights in the disputed territory to protect themselves from shelling attacks. In coming negotiations, he said, it would be an “absurd proposition” and a “major non-starter” for Azerbaijan to cede control of that land.
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has simmered since a truce was signed in 1994 to bring the end to a bloody war that left more than 20,000 killed. In recent years, the cease-fire “line of contact” has been the site of sporadic violence between Azerbaijani and Karabakh troops, but analysts said that the latest surge in fighting has been unprecedented. Thirty soldiers, 12 from Azerbaijan and 18 from Nagorno-Karabakh, were killed in the first day of fighting, along with a 12-year-old boy. On Tuesday, Azerbaijan’s defense ministry confirmed that an additional 16 of its soldiers had been killed Sunday and Monday. Both sides have blamed the other for the violence and have reported high, and likely inflated, reports of how many opposing soldiers they have killed. As both sides announced a break in the fighting, Western and Russian officials prepared a series of high-level visits to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, to seek a more stable peace. The three countries are the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is tasked with mediating peace talks between the sides.
Richard Giragosian, the director of the Regional Studies Center, an independent think tank in Armenia, called this week’s fighting a “near death experience” for the cease-fire line, adding that there are no assurances the cessation of hostilities will hold through this week’s flurry of diplomatic activity. Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center, an independent think tank in Armenia, called this week’s fighting a “near death experience” for the cease-fire line, adding that there are no assurances that the cessation of hostilities will hold through the flurry of diplomatic activity.
“There is very little in terms of deterrence or even leverage to prevent a repeat of renewed hostilities,” said Giragosian, noting that the cease-fire does not have “external security backing or any real supervision.”“There is very little in terms of deterrence or even leverage to prevent a repeat of renewed hostilities,” said Giragosian, noting that the cease-fire does not have “external security backing or any real supervision.”
[Azerbaijan declares cease-fire, but fighting continues in breakaway enclave]
Early Tuesday evening, the Nagorno-Karabakh government claimed that Azerbaijani artillery had violated the cease-fire several times during the day and claimed that its forces had not returned fire. It was not immediately possible to verify that report.
Russia has begun attempts at shuttle diplomacy. On Tuesday evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, urging “both sides as a matter of urgency to ensure the full cessation of hostilities and compliance with a cease-fire regime,” according to a Kremlin statement. Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev will travel to Yereven, the capital of Armenia, on Thursday, while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to Azerbaijan.
A wider conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh is seen as having the potential to drag in Russia, which shares a defense alliance with Armenia, and NATO-member Turkey, which has said it will back the Azerbaijani government in the clashes. Tensions have soared between the two countries since Turkey downed a Russian jet over the Syrian border last year, an incident in which the pilot and a marine sent on a rescue mission were killed. Russia has accused Turkey of supporting the Islamic State and other terrorist groups and has imposed sanctions against Turkish goods and travel to Turkish resorts. On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict that maintains Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
Both sides have claimed to have killed hundreds of opposing soldiers, while reporting losses of their own in the dozens. The first day of fighting was the bloodiest, with Azerbaijan reporting 12 soldiers killed and Karabakh officials reporting 18 dead. A 12-year-old boy was also reported killed during the fighting. On Tuesday, Azerbaijan said that 16 soldiers had been killed in the last two days of fighting before the cease-fire was announced.
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