Russian Peacekeepers Arrive In Nagorno-Karabakh
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Hundreds of Russian peacekeeping troops have arrived in the contested enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, after Russia brokered a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Russian troops entered the area ending the deadliest clashes in years between mainly Christian Armenia and heavily Muslim Azerbaijan for control over Nagorno-Karabakh.
At least hundreds and perhaps several thousand people died, according to various counts.
Nagorno-Karabakh is in Azerbaijan but has been run by ethnic Armenians since 1994. Monday’s peace deal sparked jubilant scenes in Azerbaijan but fury in Armenia.
Under its terms, Azerbaijan will hold on to several areas it took during the conflict. Armenia also agreed to withdraw from several other adjacent areas over the next few weeks.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Tuesday that he made an “extremely difficult decision for myself and for all of us” in signing the accord.
MILITARY SITUATION
“I made this decision as a result of an in-depth analysis of the military situation and the assessment of the people who know the situation best,” Pashinyan explained. “I also based it on the belief that this is the best possible solution in the current situation,” he added in a statement on social media.
But violent protests broke out in the Armenian capital of Yerevan after the announcement, where windows were smashed at the prime minister’s official residence. Angry crowds also entered Armenian Parliament to protest. Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan was reportedly hospitalized with injuries.
The peace deal came as Azerbaijan claimed the victory in the strategic city of Shusha where
a historic cathedral was seriously damaged during shelling by suspected Azeri forces.
Reporters earlier saw a gaping hole in the roof of the Ghazanchetsots (Holy Savior) Cathedral, an important site for the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Rubble was strewn about the floor, pews were knocked over and the interior was covered in dust from parts of the building’s limestone walls that had been hit. A section of its metallic roof had collapsed and fallen to the ground outside.
SIGNING DEAL
The peace deal, which was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s prime minister, took effect on Tuesday from 01:00 local time.
During a televised address, President Putin said Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to patrol the front line. At least 2,000 Russian soldiers will eventually be active in the region and they will guard the “Lachin corridor” which links the Karabakh capital, Stepanakert, to Armenia.
Ninety armored personnel carriers will also deploy as part of the renewable five-year mission. Ten aircraft carrying the first wave of troops took off from an airbase in Ulyanovsk early on Tuesday.
Ahead of their arrival, Azerbaijan said it accidentally downed a Russian helicopter in Armenian airspace killing two crew members.
“The Azerbaijani side apologizes to the Russian side in connection with this tragic incident, which is accidental and was not directed against the Russian side,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
It expressed condolences to the families of the dead crew members and said Azerbaijan “declares its readiness to pay approprate compensation.”
STRONGER RUSSIA?
Analysts said that with the Russia-brokered ceasefire Russian President prevented a stronger Turkish presence in a region Moscow views as its backyard.
The heavy fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces over the enclave also tested Moscow’s influence in the South Caucasus. It views that part of the former Soviet Union as vital to defending its own southern flank.
There was international concern about a return to a wider conflict between Turkey-backed Azerbaijan and Armenia. A 1994 truce ended a separatist war in which an estimated 30,000 people died.
However isolated clashes occurred since then, and full-scale fighting began on September 27.
Several ceasefires, including at least one brokered by Russia and one by the United States, failed to end the clashes.
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