War in Nagorno-Karabakh ends, Pashinyan, Aliyev and Putin sign agreement

(Patria) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on his Facebook page that he signed a document ending the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, and signed the decision with Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, and Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan.

He called this document very painful for Armenians, and the decision very difficult.

"Dear compatriots, sisters and brothers, I personally made a very difficult decision for myself and for all of us. I signed a statement on ending the war with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan. The text of the statement has been published and it is very painful for me and for our people," Pashinyan wrote on Facebook.

"I made the decision as a result of a deep analysis of the military situation and an assessment by people who know the situation. This is the best solution, I will write about it in the coming days," his address on Facebook reads.

He emphasized that Armenians must analyze their years of independence and plan for the future so as not to repeat past mistakes.

"I kneel before our victims, our soldiers, generals, volunteers who served and protected the homeland with their lives. They saved Artsakh. We fought to the end. And we will win. Artsakh will win," he stated.

The Kremlin spokesman also confirmed that the leaders of the three countries signed an agreement ending the fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh, Reuters reported, citing Russian agencies. Russia will send its peacekeeping forces to Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated. He announced that the ceasefire would take effect at midnight Moscow time, and that Armenia and Azerbaijan should exchange prisoners of war.

Arayik Harutyunyan, leader of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, said on Facebook that he had given his consent "to end the war as soon as possible".

Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, but it is inhabited by ethnic Armenians who reject Azerbaijani rule.

Clashes escalated on September 27 and are at their worst level since the 1990s, when 30,000 people were killed in Nagorno-Karabakh. More than a million people were displaced. Azerbaijanis left Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories, while Armenians left their homes in Azerbaijan.

Since then, decades of smaller but deadly conflicts have occurred along the line of contact and the common border.

It is feared that several thousand people have been killed in the latest escalation of conflict over this territory, which began at the end of September. In the past six weeks, three ceasefire attempts have failed, RSE reports.