In Nagorno-Karabakh, where the unrecognized republic and Armenia fought against Azerbaijan for more than a month, a turning point occurred - the latter took the strategically important city of Shusha. After that, an armistice was signed, but not everyone in Armenia is satisfied with it.
What is happening in Transcaucasia now, ElitExpert found out.
The key to Karabakh is in Baku's pocket
Yesterday, November 9, it was reported in Nagorno-Karabakh that they no longer control the city of Shusha (Shusha) - it was taken by the Azerbaijani military. This settlement is both an important strategic point and a symbol of Karabakh. It is located on a mountain above the capital Stepanakert, just a few kilometers from it, and the road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia passes through Shusha. The strategic importance of Shusha is obvious - after the loss of the city, the Armenian army was under threat of encirclement.
Learn more about the meaning of Shusha ElitExpert told in the previous material.
After this, the Armenian side was forced to go to negotiations, in fact capitulated.
Territorial concessions and Russian peacekeepers
On November 9, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia signed a tripartite agreement on a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. Here is the full text of the agreement.
"We, the President of the Azerbaijan Republic I. G. Aliyev, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia N. V. Pashinyan and the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, stated the following:
1. A complete ceasefire and all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are announced from 00:00 hours Moscow time on November 10, 2020. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, hereinafter referred to as the Parties, stop at their positions.
2. The Agdam region and the territories held by the Armenian Party in the Gazakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan shall be returned to the Azerbaijan Party until November 20, 2020.
3. Along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor, a peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is deployed in the amount of 1 servicemen with small arms, 960 armored personnel carriers, 90 units of automobile and special equipment.
4. The peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is being deployed in parallel with the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces. The duration of the stay of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is 5 years with automatic extension for the next 5-year periods, if none of the Parties declares 6 months before the expiration of the period of intention to terminate the application of this provision.
5. In order to increase the effectiveness of control over the implementation of the agreements by the Parties to the conflict, a peacekeeping center is being deployed to control the ceasefire.
6. The Republic of Armenia will return the Kelbajar region to the Republic of Azerbaijan by November 15, 2020, and the Lachin region by December 1, 2020, leaving behind the Lachin corridor (5 km wide), which will ensure the connection of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and at the same time not will affect the city of Shusha.
By agreement of the Parties, in the next three years, a plan for the construction of a new traffic route along the Lachin corridor, providing communication between Stepanakert and Armenia, with the subsequent redeployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to protect this route will be determined.
The Republic of Azerbaijan guarantees the safety of traffic along the Lachin corridor of citizens, vehicles and goods in both directions.
7. Internally displaced persons and refugees return to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent areas under the control of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
8. The exchange of prisoners of war and other detainees and bodies of the dead is carried out.
9. All economic and transport links in the region are unblocked. The Republic of Armenia provides transport links between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic in order to organize the unimpeded movement of citizens, vehicles and goods in both directions. Transport control is exercised by the bodies of the Border Service of the FSB of Russia.
By agreement of the Parties, construction of new transport communications linking the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic with the western regions of Azerbaijan will be ensured. "
It is known that Russia has already started transferring its peacekeeping contingent to Nagorno-Karabakh. Six Il-76 aircraft with Russian military personnel, special vehicles and armored personnel carriers have already taken off from the Ulyanovsk-Vostochny airfield in Karabakh.
A "maidan" is planned in Yerevan
Naturally, Armenia reacted to this news as a betrayal. In connection with this, there were mass riots in Yerevan all night, an outraged crowd seized the parliament and severely beat the speaker Ararat Mirzoyan, demanding the resumption of hostilities. At the same time, the opposition factions are trying to call an extraordinary session of the Armenian parliament and cancel the decision on the truce. The opposition also intends to dismiss Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The Prime Minister himself said that he agreed to a humiliating ceasefire for Armenia at the insistence of the military.
"The army said that we should stop because we have certain problems, the prospect of solving which is not clear, and the resource is exhausted," Pashinyan said.
According to him, there were problems with mobilization, and in general, Armenia was not ready for hostilities.
There are many indications that Pashinyan will not be able to retain power. But how will his replacements act is a big question. On the one hand, under public pressure, they can resume hostilities. However, it is obvious that Azerbaijan is better prepared for war and has taken more advantageous positions. In addition, the presence of the military of the Russian Federation can also play a role - it is quite likely that the Kremlin will put pressure on Yerevan, forcing it to preserve the truce.
