An hour after the truce was announced, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the intensity of the hostilities in the region 'has decreased drastically.'
Azerbaijan and Armenian forces reached a cease-fire agreement Wednesday to end two days of fighting in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region that has been a flashpoint for decades, officials on both sides said.
The escalation raised concerns that a full-scale war in the region could resume between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which have been locked in a struggle over the region since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The most recent heavy fighting occurred over six weeks in 2020, when Azerbaijan retook parts of the region and areas around it that were lost in the earlier separatist war.
The deal envisions the withdrawal of Armenian military units and equipment from Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as disarming the local defense forces, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said. Armenia's Pashinyan said his government didn't take part in discussing or negotiating the deal, but"has taken note" of the decision made by the region's separatist authorities.
In announcing the operation on Wednesday, Azerbaijan aired a long list of grievances, accusing Armenian forces of attacking its positions in the region, planting landmines and engaging in acts of sabotage. Before the cease-fire, blasts reverberated around Stepanakert every few minutes on Wednesday morning, with some explosions in the distance and others closer to the city.
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