The new humanitarian truce follows four weeks of conflict over the disputed region. Two previous Russia-brokered agreements have broken down, with both Armenia and Azerbaijan blaming the other for a return to violence.
The United States, Armenia and Azerbaijan announced a new cease-fire agreement over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region that will take effect at 8:00 a.m. local time (0400 UTC/GMT) on Monday.
The deal follows nearly a month of fresh conflict in the region, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but run by ethnic Armenians, entered its fifth week. Two previous temporary truces, broken by Russia, have failed to hold.
Shortly after the cease-fire took effect on Monday, Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of violating the agreement. The Azerbaijan Defense Ministry said Armenian forces had shelled villages in the Terter and Lachin regions. The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry denied the claim, saying it was “misinformation” and that Azerbaijian’s military had launched a missile attack on Armenian forces.
“The United States facilitated intensive negotiations among the Foreign Ministers and the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to move Armenia and Azerbaijan closer to a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” Sunday’s joint statement said.
The warring parties agreed to abide by the terms of the humanitarian ceasefire agreed in Moscow on October 10, which were reaffirmed in the statement issued from Paris on October 17, the statement added.
The US is one of three co-chairs, along with France and Russia, of the Minsk Group, established by the Organization for the Security and Cooperation of Europe (OSCE) to broker peace between the two former Soviet republics.
Source : agencies
