Armenia signs ‘painful’ deal with Azerbaijan and Russia to end war in Nagorno-Karabakh
- Declaration by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan comes after six weeks of heavy fighting over disputed region
- Azerbaijani forces had made significant gains against Armenia-backed fighters
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Tuesday he had signed a “painful” agreement with Azerbaijan and Russia to end the war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“I have signed a statement with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan on the termination of the Karabakh war,” Pashinyan said in a statement posted on his Facebook page, calling the move “unspeakably painful for me personally and for our people.”
He said the agreement would take effect from 1.00am on Tuesday, ending six weeks of fierce clashes over the disputed region that have left hundreds dead.
“I have taken this decision as a result of an in-depth analysis of the military situation,” he said, after Azerbaijani forces made significant gains against Armenia-backed fighters in the region.
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“This is not a victory but there is not defeat until you consider yourself defeated. We will never consider ourselves defeated and this shall become a new start of an era of our national unity and rebirth,” he said.
The Kremlin and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev later confirmed the news.