Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on Saturday on a ceasefire starting at noon in the separatist region of Nagorno Karabakh, in the grip of the fighting, announced the Russian diplomacy after marathon negotiations in Moscow between the leaders of the Armenian and Azerbaijani diplomacy.
“A cease-fire is announced from 12:00 noon on October 10, 2020 for humanitarian purposes,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, reading a statement at the end of the negotiations.
Russian diplomacy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova then told AFP that the ceasefire would begin at noon on Saturday.
Minister Sergei Lavrov said the ceasefire would allow “the exchange of prisoners of war, other people and the bodies of those killed in accordance with the criteria of the Committee of the Red Cross”.
Azerbaijan and Armenia also committed themselves “to substantial negotiations to achieve a rapid peaceful settlement” of the conflict with the mediation of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Lavrov said, reading the report. communicated.
The “specific parameters” for the implementation of the ceasefire will be agreed later, added Sergey Lavrov.
These negotiations between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Moscow lasted more than 10 hours and ended very late at night from Friday to Saturday.
Since September 27, Armenian separatists from the self-proclaimed Nagorny Karabakh republic, backed by Armenia, and Azerbaijani forces have been clashing in this mountainous region, claimed by the two countries.
The official death toll on Friday rose to more than 400, including 22 Armenian civilians and 31 Azerbaijani. It is very partial, however, and could be much higher, with each side claiming to have eliminated thousands of enemy soldiers.