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Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict

Armenian PM says there was probability of losing Stepanakert without Karabakh deal

According to Nikol Pashinyan, the decision was made after recommendations by the General Staff and the leadership of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan Tigran Mehrabyan, Armenian Prime Minister Press Service/PAN Photo via AP

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan

© Tigran Mehrabyan, Armenian Prime Minister Press Service/PAN Photo via AP

YEREVAN, November 11. /TASS/. Armenia had to sign an agreement to end hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh in order to prevent a military collapse, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday during a live broadcast on his Facebook page.

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"If the fighting had continued, there was a very high probability that Stepanakert, Martuni, and Askeran would have fallen. Subsequently, thousands of our soldiers could have been surrounded, that is, a collapse would have happened. We had to sign that agreement," he noted.

According to Pashinyan, the decision was made after recommendations by the General Staff and the leadership of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region. Besides, Baku and Yerevan must exchange prisoners and the bodies of those killed.

On Tuesday, Armenia’s Defense Ministry and General Staff said that the armed forces would honor the agreement and called on people to refrain from actions that would destabilize the situation in the country. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian announced the beginning of political consultations to discuss the situation after the signing of the Nagorno-Karabakh agreement.

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