Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists agree ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh

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00:00 We begin with news of a ceasefire that's gone into effect in Nagorno-Karabakh,

00:04 this after the latest round of clashes in the enclave.

00:08 Now, Russian peacekeepers reportedly brokered that agreement.

00:11 It involves Armenian separatists laying down their weapons

00:15 before reintegration talks begin on Thursday.

00:19 For more on this story, we can bring in France 24's

00:21 International Affairs Editor, Ketivan Gojistani.

00:23 Ketivan, what more do we know about this ceasefire?

00:27 Well, there's been a statement from the separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh,

00:31 and they basically explained that this was indeed mediated

00:37 by those Russian peacekeeping forces and that the agreement

00:42 was reached for, quote, a complete cessation of hostilities,

00:46 which kicked off at 1 p.m. local time.

00:49 Now, in that statement, there's also an explanation from the separatists

00:54 that they saw this as having no choice

00:59 but to seize hostilities.

01:01 That was the wording of the statement,

01:04 saying that the separatist forces had been trying to prevent

01:11 Azerbaijan from breaking through their lines, but that Azerbaijan forces

01:15 broke through the lines and seized a number of strategic road junction

01:19 while the world stood by.

01:23 So it seems, according to that statement, that the Armenian separatists

01:27 felt like there was no way out besides agreeing to that ceasefire

01:31 because they were not getting help from anyone.

01:33 They don't mention directly the Russians, but it seems directed

01:37 a little bit at the Russians.

01:39 And as you said, there are now going to be talks between the separatists

01:43 and Azerbaijan on Thursday to discuss

01:47 talks about what reintegration would mean.

01:52 And in the statement from the separatist side, it also mentions

01:56 the protection of the Armenian ethnic Armenian population in Nagorno Karabakh.

02:02 So this story, of course, developing, but at least for now,

02:05 there is an official ceasefire in place, a ceasefire in place.

02:09 And let's talk about the role of Russia, because we have said that Russian

02:12 peacekeepers help broker those talks.

02:15 And what are officials in Moscow saying about all of this?

02:19 Well, the Kremlin is reacting a little bit also to the criticism

02:24 coming from not only the separatists in Nagorno Karabakh,

02:27 but also from Armenia itself, that basically the Russians are not doing enough,

02:32 that they didn't do enough to prevent the situation from happening.

02:36 Remember that there are 2000 peacekeepers

02:39 in that region since the 2020 war.

02:43 And the Armenian side believes that the Russians did not do enough

02:48 to prevent these attacks by the by Azerbaijan, that it didn't do enough.

02:54 We heard from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that Russia didn't really warn

02:59 Armenia or the Armenian separatists about the movements of the Azerbaijan troops.

03:05 And so in the statement by the separatists, you see this thing of

03:11 we were left basically on our own, but now the Russians stepping in,

03:16 mediating this ceasefire.

03:18 And this is really a sign of this switching position

03:23 for the Russians in Nagorno Karabakh and between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

03:28 For a long, long time, Russia and Armenia were extremely close.

03:32 They were strong allies.

03:34 But it seems in recent years that Russia has started to play

03:38 a sort of mediating role between Armenia and Azerbaijan,

03:42 not wanting to pick sides, really.

03:44 And this has angered the Armenians who feel that they're left

03:48 to their own devices because Russia is not intervening strongly enough.

03:52 We'll see what those talks about reintegration do

03:57 and whether the Russians have their say or push one way or another,

04:03 Azerbaijan or Armenia to sort of give in to the situation.

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