The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense stated that an agreement had been reached on the suspension of anti-terrorist measures in Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday, beginning at 01:00 pm local time.
"The formations of the Armenian armed forces located in the Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan and illegal Armenian armed formations are laying down their weapons, abandoning combat positions and military posts and completely disarming. Units of the Armenian armed forces are leaving the territory of Azerbaijan, illegal Armenian armed formations are being disbanded," the statement said.
The ministry added that the "illegal formations" in Nagorno-Karabakh are handing over all weapons, heavy equipment under the reached agreement that is being ensured by Russian peacekeepers.
The ministry also stated that Azerbaijani forces took control of 90 armenian combat positions before agreement on suspending military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“At the moment, the armed forces of Azerbaijan have managed to take control of more than 90 strategically important combat positions of the Armenian armed forces in the Karabakh region [...] Seven more vehicles, four mortars, one tank and two IFVs," the ministry's spokesperson said.
No strikes are being carried out on the retreating "Armenian military formations," the spokesperson said.
"Conditions are being created for the voluntary retreat of the personnel of the Armenian armed forces accompanied by our technical means. In such cases, attacks on retreating military formations are not carried out," the military said.
Moreover, the Azerbaijani presidential administration announced a meeting planned for Thursday with representatives of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to discuss reintegration issues, based on the "Constitution and laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan."
In turn, Armenian deputy foreign minister reportedly said that Yerevan understands readiness of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh to negotiate with Baku.
Meanwhile, commenting on the recent developments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that de jure the operation was Azerbaijan’s actions on its own territory.
During a conversation with reporters, he was asked about the statement of the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan, who accused Russia of failing to fulfill its obligations to protect Nagorno-Karabakh. The spokesman referred to the Armenian government's statement, in which it de facto recognized the region as part of Azerbaijan.
“Therefore, such accusations against us are absolutely groundless. Based on nothing," Peskov said.
He went on to say that contacts between Moscow and Armenia continue, it has been and remains an ally and partner for Russia, and contacts also continue with Azerbaijan, which is also an important partner.
On September 19, Azerbaijan began “local anti-terrorist measures” to restore the constitutional order in Karabakh. Baku called the complete withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region and the dissolution of the internationally unrecognized authorities in Stepanakert as a condition for establishing peace. In turn, Yerevan stated that there were no Armenian troops in the region.
The Russian Ministry of Defense called on the parties to the conflict to immediately stop the hostilities and continue negotiations. The Russian military noted that Russian peacekeepers organized medical care for the victims and the evacuation of the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh from the most dangerous areas.
Later, the Russian Foreign Ministry called on the conflicting parties to immediately stop the bloodshed, stop hostilities and eliminate civilian casualties. Moscow, as follows from the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, calls for an immediate return to the implementation of the trilateral agreements of November 2020.