Moscow, SAEDNEWS, Oct. 10, Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to halt hostilities in contested Nagorno-Karabakh after marathon talks in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. The armistice is set to take effect at noon on October 10.
The agreement was reached at the trilateral consultations involving the foreign ministers of the two warring parties, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Lavrov, who acted as a mediator. The negotiations lasted some 10 hours and wrapped up in the early hours of Saturday local time.
Baku and Yerevan agreed to suspend all military actions, starting at noon on Saturday, for “humanitarian” reasons. The pause in fighting will allow for captured prisoners to be swapped and the bodies of soldiers fallen on the frontlines to be exchanged, Lavrov told the media.
The Red Cross will help to facilitate the exchanges.
Lavrov indicated that the deal is meant to serve as a stepping stone to a lasting peace, adding that the warring sides will embark on negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group to “reach peaceful resolution” of the conflict.
"The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group are starting meaningful negotiations to reach peaceful resolution [of the conflict] based on the basic settlement principles as soon as possible," Russia's top diplomat said.
The exact parameters of the ceasefire are still being fleshed out, according to Lavrov.
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