Azerbaijan assured on disarmament of illegal Armenian forces in Karabakh: Baku

Azerbaijan has been assured on the disarmament of illegal Armenian forces in Karabakh and the withdrawal of units of Armenia’s armed forces, Baku said on Wednesday.

Citing Azerbaijan president’s assistant Hikmet Hajiyev, the Baku-based Trend News Agency reported: “The Armenian armed forces formations and Armenian illegal armed formations located in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region shall lay down their weapons, leave their combat positions and military posts, and fully disarm. The units of the armed forces of Armenia shall leave the territory of Azerbaijan, and the Armenian illegal armed formations shall be disbanded.”

“The implementation of the above-mentioned processes is ensured in coordination with the Russian peacekeeping contingent,” according to the news agency.

Hajiyev said that the socio-economic reintegration of the Armenian residents of Karabakh is an “internal issue” of Azerbaijan.

About anti-terror measures in the Karabakh region, he said, civilians and infrastructure objects were not targeted.

“Only military targets belonging to illegal armed formations of the separatist regime are put out of action with the use of high-precision weapons available in the arsenal of the Azerbaijani Army,” Hajiyev added.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said an agreement had been reached to suspend anti-terrorist activities launched in Karabakh on Tuesday.

"Taking into account the request of the representatives of Armenian residents of Karabakh through the Russian peacekeeping contingent, an agreement was reached," the ministry said in a statement.

The counter-terrorism measures were launched to uphold provisions outlined in a trilateral peace agreement with Russia and Armenia to end the 2020 conflict.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The war ended with a Russia-brokered cease-fire.