BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 11
Trend:
The current decision on a ceasefire in Karabakh was taken out of extreme necessity, Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan said, Trend reports referring to Armenian media.
He noted that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agreed to sign a decision, including on his proposal, taking into account the analysis of the multi-aspect and multilateral assessment of the situation.
"This decision was an absolute necessity, the rejection of it could lead to irreversible consequences. This must be clearly accepted and understood. I think this decision is correct, regardless of any speculation. This is a very bitter truth for us, but it was the result of an objective assessment of the situation," said Gasparyan.
Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation, Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM and the president of Russia.
A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is introduced at 00:00 hours (Moscow time) on 10 November 2020.
Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery on Sept. 27. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front.
Back in July 2020, Armenian Armed Forces violated the ceasefire in the direction of Azerbaijan's Tovuz district. As a result of Azerbaijan's retaliation, the opposing forces were silenced. The fighting continued the following days as well. Azerbaijan lost a number of military personnel members, who died fighting off the attacks of the Armenian Armed Forces.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian Armed Forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.