On November 21, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev hosted the Russian delegation headed by Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The parties discussed the trilateral ceasefire agreement for Karabakh.
“We suppose the agreement details are carried out successfully, and it means that the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides are ready to terminate the long-term conflict and resolve the dispute in a political mode.
After a 44-day armed conflict and military operations, we signed a document that is an essentially political document from my point of view… Unfortunately, during military operations, the Armenian side roughly violated all the standards for military operations and humanitarian norms. Our towns and villages were shelled daily, which led to the death of 94 peaceful Azerbaijanis, including women and children. More than 400 were injured and more than 3,000 houses were destroyed.
Armenia intensely used foreign mercenaries,’’ Aliyev said, adding that Azerbaijan defeated Armenia despite all this.
“We welcome the deployment of Russia’s peacekeeping mission in Karabakh, which cooperates with our structures and, as we know, with the consent of Armenia. I think it is an essential factor for stabilization. After the ceasefire was signed, no severe violations have been detected. I believe it will continue this way in the future.
We welcome the intense negotiations between Russia and Turkey on the establishment of the Azerbaijan ceasefire monitoring center. I hope the ceasefire and following plans of normalization of relations with Armenia – if the latter agrees – will create the new situation in the region and strengthen collaboration, stability and security,’’ Aliyev remarked.
