28 Dec 2020 in 10:30
Armenian illegal armed group attacked Azerbaijani servicemen in Khojavend district, the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan reported. On December 27, at about 3.30 pm, an illegal Armenian armed group or a group of six remnants of the Armenian armed forces remaining in the direction of Aghdam (Akaku) village of Khojavend region of Azerbaijan attacked the units of the Azerbaijani Army, the statement reads.
According to the ministry, as a result of the attack, one serviceman was killed and another wounded. As a result, soldier Ganbarov Elmir Rayil oglu was killed and soldier Emin Suleyman oglu Aliyev was wounded. After receiving first aid, our wounded serviceman was evacuated to a medical institution, and his life is not in danger, the ministry added.
What’s new? A Russian-brokered ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan ended a six-week war in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan regained most of the territory it lost to Armenian forces in the first war, which ended in 1994. Russian peacekeepers have deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Why does it matter? Decades of failed negotiations after the first Nagorno-Karabakh war hardened positions on both sides, which culminated in 2020’s six weeks of bloodshed. Today, the ceasefire plan leaves many questions unanswered, including the crucial issue of Nagorno Karabakh’s status, but immediate efforts to force compromise on that risk backfiring.
What should be done? Rather than seek an elusive comprehensive agreement, parties and stakeholders should prioritise humanitarian needs and international support to rebuild infrastructure and forge cooperative ways forward, including through commerce. Of outside actors, Russia will play the lead role, but success is more likely if Eu