Azerbaijani news agencies reported today, Thursday, that "the talks between Baku and the Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh held in the town of Yevlakh in Azerbaijan have ended." The discussions followed the separatist region's surrender, leading to calls for the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for failing to protect the territory. The "Sputnik" agency noted that "a representative from the Russian peacekeeping forces attended the meeting."
The Azerbaijani presidency announced that a delegation of Armenians arrived in Yevlakh for discussions with Baku. Azerbaijan stated yesterday, Wednesday, that it had halted its military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh region after its success on the battlefield forced the Armenian separatist forces to agree to a ceasefire that includes full control returning to Baku over the area.
In a related context, the Kremlin announced that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev apologized in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the deaths of Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday. It added that "Putin emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety and security of the Armenian ethnic group in the separatist region that was forced to surrender after a swift attack by Azerbaijani forces." A source in the Russian executive told "Sputnik" that "the first suspects in the killing of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh have been arrested." Russia stated that peacekeepers were killed when their vehicle came under fire while leaving a monitoring point.
