November 12th. Comprehensive foreign media reported on the 11th that Armenia and Azerbaijan recently signed a new ceasefire agreement. Rutskoy, director of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said that the two countries have stopped military operations in the Naka region. At present, Russia has sent peacekeeping forces to the Naka region, and will also establish a joint center with Turkey to be responsible for technical supervision of the implementation of the ceasefire statement in the Naka region.
Naka ceasefire again! Is the region expected to welcome peace?
The Naka region is located in southwestern Azerbaijan, and its residents are mostly Armenians. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the ownership of the Naka region. In 1994, the two sides reached an agreement on a comprehensive ceasefire, but the two countries have been in a state of hostility over the Naqqa issue, and armed conflicts have occurred from time to time.
On September 27, 2020, a new round of conflict broke out in Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Naka issue, resulting in a large number of casualties, including civilians. In October, the two countries reached a ceasefire agreement three times under the mediation of relevant countries. But after the ceasefire agreement came into effect, both sides accused the other of violating the agreement to launch attacks.
On November 9, the two countries reached a ceasefire agreement for the fourth time. The statement stated that a complete ceasefire in the Nakka region will begin at 0:00 Moscow time (5:00 Beijing time) on the 10th. Russia will deploy peacekeepers in the “corridor” along the line of contact between the two sides of Aya and Armenia.
On October 15, local time, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan continued in the Naka region. A hospital in the Martakert region was destroyed in the fighting. The picture shows Armenian soldiers standing in front of the partially destroyed military hospital building.
Russian Satellite Network reported on the 11th that Rutskoy, director of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said that the two countries have stopped military operations in Nakah, and the soldiers of both sides are staying in the current area.
Russia-Turkey joint supervision, committed to long-term conflict resolution
Rutskoy also introduced that the peacekeeping force dispatched by Russia is mainly composed of the 15th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Central Military Region, with a total of 1,960 soldiers, 90 armored vehicles, and 380 vehicles and special equipment. In order to complete peacekeeping missions, military aircraft and drone equipment will also be used.
As a traditional ally of Azerbaijan, Turkey has repeatedly expressed its full support for Azerbaijan. On November 10th, Turkish President Erdogan and Russian President Putin talked on the phone to discuss issues such as the conflict in the Naka region. Erdogan spoke highly of Russia’s efforts to mediate the conflict, believing that this has laid a solid foundation for the comprehensive and long-term resolution of the conflict in the Naqqa region.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian Defense Minister Shoigu and Turkish Defense Minister Akar have signed a memorandum on the establishment of a joint center for ceasefire supervision in Naqqa. The Russian-Turkish Joint Center will be located in Azerbaijan and will be responsible for collecting, summarizing and verifying information on the ceasefire compliance. The center will also be responsible for reviewing all complaints and issues related to ceasefire violations.
Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Russia Pollard also stated that the Russian-Turkish Joint Center is only responsible for technical supervision of the implementation of the ceasefire statement in the Naka region and will not deploy Turkish army.
