Armenia & Azerbaijan sign ceasefire to end Nagorno-Karabakh War with Russia's intervention

Moscow/Yerevan/Baku: – There are indications that the Armenia-Azerbaijan war, being fought for the last 44 days, is ending. As per received information, Russian President Vladimir Putin has brokered a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan. All the three countries have signed the agreement, and the heads of state of Armenia and Azerbaijan have confirmed the agreement. Following the peace deal, celebrations have started in Azerbaijan, and there are all-round protests against the government in Armenia.

War flared up between the central Asian countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan around mid-September. Turkey jumped into the war, that started for control, over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Although Russia supported Armenia, the Russian leadership refused to provide any assistance to the country. With the whole-hearted Turkish support, Azerbaijan recorded notable success in the war. It was being claimed that this country will take control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in a few days. Three attempts for a ceasefire, made before this, have failed.

Against this background, the peace deal brokered with the Russian initiative is noteworthy. The region won by Azerbaijan, till Monday, will stay under its control. Armenia will also hand over some other vital parts of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan. At the same time, a unit of Russian military will be posted on the road connecting Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh as a peacekeeping force. Nearly 2,000 Russian soldiers will be deployed here for a period of five years. Status Quo will be maintained regarding the territory in Nagorno-Karabakh, other than the one taken over by Azerbaijan.

With the peace deal brokered by Russia in the Armenia-Azerbaijan war, the Turkish ambition of increasing its influence by taking advantage of the war seems to have bitten the dust. At the same time, analysts claimed that with the peace deal, Russia has succeeded in tightening its grip over Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Armenia and Azerbaijan, which were carved out of USSR in 1991, have been consistently clashing over the Nagorno-Karabakh region since 1980. Although the Armenian population is more in Nagorno-Karabakh, this is considered to be a part of Azerbaijan on the international level. The autonomous government refused to accept the Azerbaijan control, and Armenia has wholly supported the stand. Azerbaijan is an Islamic country, and the majority of the population is of Turkish origin. This country, with a population of more than 10 million, is known to be an oil-rich country. Some of the fuel pipelines between Russia and Europe and Russia and Turkey also pass through this country. Therefore, this country has special strategic importance.