After cease-fire, Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan discuss their future

Representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh and the Azerbaijan government met Thursday for talks on the future of the breakaway region that Azerbaijan now claims to fully control following a military offensive this week.

Azerbaijan’s state news agency said the talks, being held in the city of Yevlakh, had ended but provided no details on their progress. Nagorno-Karabakh authorities and the news agency earlier said the discussions would focus on the ethnic Armenian region’s “reintegration” into Azerbaijan.

The talks came after local Armenian self-defense forces in the southern Caucasus Mountains region agreed Wednesday to disarm and disband following a military operation launched by Azerbaijan in the decades-long separatist conflict. A Russian-mediated cease-fire ended the latest round of fighting in the region, which has run its own affairs since the early 1990s.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev declared victory in a televised address to the nation, saying his country had restored its sovereignty in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Azerbaijan army unleashed artillery and drone attacks Tuesday against the outnumbered and undersupplied pro-Armenian forces in the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

The fighting worsened an already grim humanitarian situation for residents who have endured shortages of food and medicine for months under Azerbaijan’s blockade of the road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.

Nagorno-Karabakh human rights ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said at least 200 people, including 10 civilians, were killed and more than 400 others were wounded in the fighting. The figures could not immediately be independently verified.

Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh accused Azerbaijan on Thursday of violating the cease-fire agreement by firing on Stepanakert, the capital of the disputed region, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry denied there had been any attack, the Azerbaijan news agency reported.

Azerbaijan’s move to reclaim control over Nagorno-Karabakh raised concerns that a full-scale war in the region could resume. Both sides have been locked in a struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh since a separatist war there ended in 1994. A second, six-week war in 2020 killed over 6,700 people and saw Azerbaijan reclaim large parts of the region, and Russia dispatched 2,000 peacekeepers after it brokered a truce.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an urgent meeting Thursday on the Azerbaijani offensive at the request of France.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Aliyev and condemned Azerbaijan’s decision to use force “at the risk of worsening the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh,” the French presidential office said. It added that Mr. Macron “stressed the need to respect” the cease-fire and provide guarantees for “the rights and security of the people of Karabakh, in line with international law.”

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. was “deeply concerned” about Azerbaijan’s military actions and was closely watching the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In a phone call Thursday with Mr. Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin also urged that the rights and security of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh should be guaranteed, according to the Tass news agency.

Mr. Aliyev apologized to Mr. Putin during the phone call for the deaths of some Russian peacekeepers in the region Wednesday, Tass said, citing the Kremlin press service. The Russian Defense Ministry had reported the deaths, although it didn’t say how many or whether it happened before or after the cease-fire.

About 5,000 civilians had been evacuated from a camp operated by the peacekeepers, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Many others gathered Wednesday at the airport in Stepanakert hoping to flee the region.

Azerbaijan presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said the government was “ready to listen to the Armenian population of Karabakh regarding their humanitarian needs.”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a speech Wednesday that fighting had decreased following the truce, emphasizing he held the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh fully responsible for the residents’ security.

Mr. Pashinyan, who has previously recognized Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh, said Armenia wouldn’t be drawn into the fighting. He said his government didn’t take part in negotiating the deal, but “has taken note” of the decision made by the region’s separatist authorities.

He again denied any Armenian troops were in the region, even though separatist authorities said they were in Nagorno-Karabakh and would pull out as part of the truce.

Protesters rallied in the Armenian capital of Yerevan for a second day Wednesday, demanding that authorities defend Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The conflict has long drawn in powerful regional players, including Russia and Turkey. While Russia took on a mediating role, Turkey threw its weight behind longtime ally Azerbaijan.

Russia has been Armenia’s main economic partner and ally since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and has a military base in the country.

Mr. Pashinyan, however, has been increasingly critical of Moscow’s role, emphasizing its failure to protect Nagorno-Karabakh and arguing that Armenia needs to turn to the West to ensure its security. Moscow, in turn, has expressed dismay about Mr. Pashinyan’s pro-Western tilt.

The Kremlin said Mr. Putin spoke by phone with Mr. Pashinyan on Wednesday, welcoming the deal to end the hostilities and start talks.

The separatists’ quick capitulation reflected their weakness following the Armenian forces’ defeat in the 2020 war and the loss of road link to Armenia.

While many in Armenia blamed Russia for the defeat of the separatists, Moscow pointed to Mr. Pashinyan’s own recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.

“Undoubtedly, Karabakh is Azerbaijan’s internal business,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “Azerbaijan is acting on its own territory, which was recognized by the leadership of Armenia.”

In announcing its military operation Tuesday, Azerbaijan accused pro-Armenian forces of attacking its positions, planting land mines, and engaging in sabotage.

Mr. Aliyev insisted his forces struck only military facilities, but separatist officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said Stepanakert and other areas came under “intense shelling.”

Significant damage was visible in the city, with shop windows blown out and vehicles apparently hit by shrapnel.

The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office said Armenian forces had killed one civilian in Shusha, a city in Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijan’s control.

This story was reported by the Associated Press