Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has evaluated as historic a trilateral declaration signed along with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the night of November 10 aimed at ending the Armenian-Azerbaijani military conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

In a video conference held with President Putin before the signing ceremony, Aliyev expressed his optimism over the ending of the long-term conflict between the two countries.

“I would like to say that I am very glad that an end is being put to the long-term conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan today, an end is being put to the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by an agreement on important positions that has taken more than one hour and, in general, more than one day. We have reached a settlement that I believe meets the interests of the peoples of Azerbaijan, Armenia and countries of the region,” Aliyev said.

Aliyev expressed his confidence that the military-political settlement will “lead to long-term peace and accord in our region and put an end to confrontation and bloodshed”.

Historic deal

“The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the longest-running conflicts in our region, in Eurasia, and the fact that it is coming to an end today is a historic event. It is a historic event first of all for the people of Azerbaijan, which are finally getting rid of the many years of occupation. It is also a triumph of the norms and principles of international law, the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions, which, unfortunately, remained on paper for a long time,” the president said.

Russia

Aliyev thanked Putin for his active participation in the conflict, especially in its heated phase.

“The fact that the three leaders of the countries are signing this document today speaks volumes of the special role of the Russian Federation in the settlement of this conflict. And I am sure that the role of the Russian Federation in further activities in the region, including the overcoming of the consequences of the conflict and the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, will also be significant,” he said.

Aliyev said that the signed document “will go down in history as a very important historic date in the history of the peoples of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia”.

Turkey

Aliyev also expressed his gratitude to Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his active participation in the political settlement of the conflict.

“One of the provisions of today's statement is the joint peacekeeping mission of Russia and Turkey. Thus, we are creating a completely new format of interaction in the region not only within the framework of the conflict settlement but also for future development. Because one of the provisions also stipulates the unblocking of all transport communications, which will benefit all countries of the region. Therefore, I sign this document today with a feeling of joy and a sense of pride, and I would like to congratulate the entire Azerbaijani people on this historic event,” Aliyev said.

End to bloodshed

In turn, President Vladimir Putin expressed the hope that the agreement will not only end the bloodshed and confrontation but also “create reliable mechanisms to exercise control over the agreements we have reached in our statement today”.

“But most importantly, it will create favourable conditions for a long-term historical future, for the development of relations in the region, first of all, friendly relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the interests of both the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples,” Putin stressed.

The Russian president said that the deal will benefit the interests of both the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples.

“Russia, for its part, will do everything possible to ensure that all the positions reached during the negotiations between the three parties, the statement we are signing today, are implemented,” he said.

Provisions

Under the deal, hostilities stop on 10 November 2020 and a complete ceasefire is introduced. Aghdam region and the territories held by Armenia in Gazakh region will be returned to Azerbaijan before November 20, Kelbajar region - before November 15, Lachin region - before December 1. Furthermore, in parallel with the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces, Russian peacekeepers will be deployed for the period of five years along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor (5km wide), which shall provide a connection of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and shall not affect the city of Shusha. The prisoners of war and other detainees and bodies of the dead will be exchanged. Internally displaced persons and refugees shall return to Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent districts under the control of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Moreover, all economic and transport links in the region shall be unblocked. Armenia shall provide for transport communication between Azerbaijan’s western regions and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to organize the unhindered movement of citizens, vehicles and goods in both directions. Control over transport shall be exercised by the bodies of the Border Guard Service of the Russia Federal Security Service. The construction of new transport communications linking the Nakhchivan with the western regions of Azerbaijan shall be provided.

Under the deal, Russia and Turkey have to sign an agreement on interaction within the framework of the peacekeeping and monitoring mission in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

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