An Impressive 5-Minute Ceasefire
During 10 hours of talks in Moscow a ceasefire agreement was reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan which took effect from 8:00 GMT on Saturday 10th October. Within minutes, however, there were accusations of violations. The ceasefire was designed to allow the exchange of prisoners and the recovery of bodies. The International Committee of the Red Cross refused to supervise the ceasefire due to concern for the safety of their teams, showing the expected success of the agreement.
Armenia has claimed that Azeri forces launched attacks 5 minutes after the truce and Azerbaijan’s defence ministry has accused Armenians of firing into Azeri regions, both including attacks on civilians. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has suggested that the conflict can now be considered a “genocide.”
Turkey has expressed the view that Armenians must withdraw from “occupied territories” and reports continue of Turkish-funded Syrian mercenaries allies with Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, President Rouhani of Iran repeated concerns of “foreign fighters” and “terrorists” that would be dangerous for “Iran and Russia, and the entire region”. On Saturday, President Rouhani also reiterated Iran’s willingness to facilitate peace negotiations.
Sources
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54488386
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-why-turkey-outsourcing-wars
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/10/armenia-azerbaijan-agree-ceasefire-from-midnight-lavrov
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54522278