Nagorno-Karabakh delegation arrives for negotiations with Azerbaijan

A delegation of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, has arrived in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh for negotiations with representatives of the Azerbaijani authorities, according to Azerbaijani news agency Trend.

Plans for negotiations were announced on September 20 at the time of the ceasefire agreement. The separatist authorities of the unrecognized Artsakh Republic in Nagorno-Karabakh said that the meeting would discuss “Azerbaijani concerns related to reintegration, the guarantee of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians’ rights and security, as well as the issue of ensuring the Nagorno-Karabakh population’s way of life within the framework of the Azerbaijani Constitution.”

The ceasefire agreement reached Wednesday between Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities stipulates that all Armenian troops be withdrawn “from the Russian peacekeeping contingent deployment zone” in Nagorno-Karabakh (though Yerevan denies having forces there) and that the Artsakh Defense Forces be disbanded.