BAKU, September 20. /TASS/. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that it has decided to stop its anti-terrorist operation in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from 12:00 p.m. Moscow time on September 20.

"The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reports that following an appeal from representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, which was passed through the Russian peacekeeping contingent, an agreement was reached to stop the local anti-terrorist operations at 1:00 p.m. [12:00 p.m. Moscow time] on September 20, 2023," the statement said.

The ministry listed the conditions for halting the operation. "The Armenian armed formations deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh and the illegal Armenian volunteer formations must lay down their arms, leave their combat positions and military posts and completely disarm. The Armenian military units must withdraw from Azerbaijani territory, and illegal Armenian volunteer formations must disband," the statement pointed out. In addition, "in parallel, all weapons and heavy equipment are to be surrendered."

"The implementation of all the abovementioned processes will be ensured in coordination with the Russian peacekeeping contingent," the ministry emphasized.

On September 19, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced it was launching what it described as "local anti-terrorist measures" and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening "an act of large-scale aggression." Residents of the Armenian capital took to the streets to protest outside the Armenian government building, blaming the country’s leadership and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for the situation.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has called on the parties to the conflict to stop the bloodshed, end hostilities, prevent civilian casualties, and go back to trying to settle the Karabakh issue diplomatically.

On May 17, 2023, at the Council of Europe’s summit in Reykjavik, Pashinyan said that Yerevan recognized the sovereignty of Azerbaijan within its borders, which included Nagorno-Karabakh.