Trilateral group to be established on Nagorno-Karabakh
The leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia issued a joint statement.
The leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia have issued a joint statement on their Moscow meeting.
The statement said that the three countries support the proposal to establish a trilateral working group co-chaired by the deputy prime ministers.
The statement said:
“The working group will hold its first meeting by January 30, 2021, and based on the results, will compile a list of key areas of work, and identify rail and road communications as a priority.
– In order to implement the main activities, the Co-Chairs of the Working Group will approve the composition of expert subgroups from among the officials of the competent authorities and organizations of the Parties in these areas.
By March 1, 2021, the Working Group will submit to the Parties for approval at the highest level a list and schedule of measures related to the organization of international transport security through the territory of Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the restoration and construction of new transport infrastructure.”
A meeting between Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan was held in Moscow on January 11 at the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Nagorno-Karabakh issue was discussed at the meeting.
The region of Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, was declared independent by ethnic Armenians living there as the Soviet Union collapsed. An estimated 30,000 were killed when the conflict turned into a full-fledged war,. A ceasefire signed in 1994 under the auspices of Moscow put a fragile end to a large-scale conflict. Peace talks mediated by France, US and Russia were unsuccessful and since then, conflict is volatile, with flare-ups sporadically occurring.
A large scale military operation between the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops began on September 27, 2020.
As a result of the 44-day war, which ended on 9 November, control of five cities, four settlements and 286 villages was taken back by Azerbaijani forces.
On 10 November, the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Russia and the Prime Minister of Armenia signed a statement on a complete ceasefire and all military operations in the conflict zone. In addition, Russian peacekeepers have been deployed in the region.
According to the statement, the regions of Kalbajar, Agdam and Lachin were handed over to Azerbaijan.