Armenians, Azerbaijan agree Nagorno-Karabakh cease-fire after offensive

Ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to a Russian proposal for a ceasefire on Wednesday, 24 hours after Azerbaijan began an offensive to take control of the enclave that killed dozens and injured hundreds.

Separatist Armenian forces in Karabakh said Azerbaijan had broken through their lines and seized a number of heights and strategic road junctions while the world had stood by, doing nothing.

The self-styled “Republic of Artsakh” said that in such circumstances, it had no choice but to cease hostilities from 1 p.m. local time (5 a.m. ET) on Wednesday.

“The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh accept the proposal of the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to cease fire,” it said.

“With the mediation of the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh, an agreement was reached on the complete cessation of hostilities from 13:00 on September 20, 2023.”

Azerbaijan confirmed that a ceasefire agreement had been reached. It said Russian peacekeepers relayed the Karabakh Armenian appeal for a ceasefire to Azerbaijan. It did not immediately set out the conditions.