On September 19, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense announced the holding of “anti-terrorist measures” in Karabakh. Baku explained that the events are being carried out to “ensure the provisions of the trilateral statement and suppress large-scale provocations in the Karabakh economic region.” Azerbaijan also intends to disarm and withdraw the formations of the Armenian Armed Forces and “restore the constitutional order” in the region. The ministry emphasized that the population and civilian infrastructure are not targets.
The Armenian Ministry of Defense stated that there are no units of the Armenian Armed Forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan convened a meeting of the Security Council, speaking about “large-scale military actions” unleashed by Azerbaijan.
Let us recall that after the escalation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, Azerbaijan and Armenia, through the mediation of Russia, decided on a ceasefire – the military remained in their positions.
On September 9, 2022, Nikol Pashinyan announced his readiness to hold urgent negotiations with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to de-escalate the situation on the border.
On September 13, Armenia received new proposals for a peace agreement from Azerbaijan, as stated by Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. It also became known that the Armenian government proposed to the neighboring state to withdraw its armed forces to the 1975 borders “in a mirror manner.”
On September 17, Ambassador at Large of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Edmon Marukyan confirmed the proposal to withdraw troops to the indicated borders. He also added that to achieve peace, Azerbaijan should “take steps of trust.”
