Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a temporary truce on Friday after 12 days of deadly fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The ceasefire was announced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shortly before midnight Moscow time following 11-hour talks between the two countries in the Russian capital.
The temporary cessation of hostilities is to start at midday local time (10:00 CET) on Saturday to allow for the exchange of prisoners and the recovery of dead bodies.
Lavrov also said that the two parties will “begin substantive negotiations with the aim of achieving a peaceful settlement as soon as possible.”
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a bloody war over Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s which ended in a truce in 1994. Sporadic episodes of violence have since taken place.
The mountainous region lies in Azerbaijan but is controlled by ethnic Armenians backed by Armenia.
Violence between the two former Soviet states erupted again on September 27 with both sides blaming each other for the latest flare-up — the worst in decades.
At least 400 people have since been killed in the fighting and half of the region’s population — about 70,000 — have been displaced.
The International Committee of the Red Cross — which will assist the two sides during the temporary ceasefire — said earlier this week “hundreds of key infrastructure like hospitals and schools” have either been destroyed or damaged by heavy artillery.
euronews.com
pixabay
