Baku announces condition for cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh

Azerbaijan is ready to stop hostilities in the Karabakh conflict zone if the Armenian armed forces leave the territory, President Ilham Aliev announces.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that according to Azerbaijan, since September 27, 12 people were killed and 35 others were wounded in shelling attacks of the Armenian troops on Azerbaijani villages and towns. Today, residents of the village of Ashagy Agdjakend and the town of Terter, shelled by the Armenian armed forces, have been wounded, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reports. On September 28, Armenia also reported on the first civilian killed in a shelling attack of the Azerbaijani armed forces on Armenian villages in the Vardenis District. In Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the official information, nine residents were killed and more than 30 others were wounded.

Today, in Baku, at a meeting with wounded people, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev has announced under what conditions Azerbaijan is ready to stop hostilities. "Armenia must abandon the occupation policy. Instead of that, the Armenian Prime Minister sets conditions for us. He set seven conditions for us. Recently, I have said that we reject those conditions. We have only one condition: the Armenian armed forces must immediately leave our lands, without any conditions and in full composition. Our condition is in force, and if the Armenian government fulfils it, the hostilities will be stopped, blood will stop spilling, and peace will be established in the region. We want peace and want a solution to the conflict," Ilham Aliev said.

In turn, Yerevan has announced the possibility of considering the issue of recognizing the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Furthermore, at a meeting with Russian media, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced the possibility of signing an agreement on strategic cooperation between Armenia and Karabakh in the field of security and defence. "In fact, various options are being discussed, and decisions will be made depending on some factors," Nikol Pashinyan said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 30, 2020 at 07:14 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.