After a marathon meeting that lasted for ten hours and finished in the early hours of Saturday morning Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to "a humanitarian cease fire" starting from midday.
The agreement came after talks in Moscow chaired by the foreign minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, and with the participation of the foreign ministers of Armenia, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov.
A statement posted on the website of the Russian foreign ministry said
"In response to the appeal of the President of the Russian Federation V.V.Putin and in accordance with the agreements of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan A.G. Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia N.V. Pashinyan, the parties agreed on the following steps:
1. A ceasefire is declared from 12:00 pm on October 10, 2020 for humanitarian purposes for the exchange of prisoners of war and other detained persons and bodies of the dead, mediated and in accordance with the criteria of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
2. The specific parameters of the ceasefire regime will be agreed upon additionally.
3. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, on the basis of the basic principles of the settlement, begin substantive negotiations with the aim of achieving a peaceful settlement as soon as possible.
4. The parties confirm the invariability of the format of the negotiation process ".
source: commonspace.eu with agencies
photo: The foreign minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, and the foreign ministers of Armenia, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov.
