⁍ The ceasefire is due to take effect at 8 a.m. local time (12 a.m. EDT) on Oct. 26.
⁍ The announcement came after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
⁍ The fighting that broke out on Sept. 27 over the disputed territory has surged to its worst level since the 1990s.
– The co-chairs of a group trying to bring an end to fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to a new ceasefire starting at 8am EDT Monday, the AP reports. The co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Russia, France, and the US held “intensive discussions” Friday and Saturday in Washington on ways to end fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave that is part of Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenians. The co-chairs say they will meet again in Geneva on Oct. 29. “Congratulations to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who just agreed to adhere to a cease fire effective at midnight,” President Trump tweeted Sunday. “Many lives will be saved.” The co-chairs say the ceasefire will be followed by talks on a “core elements of a comprehensive solution” that would see Nagorno-Karabakh remain part of Azerbaijan but Yerevan return control to Armenian forces. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on Sunday accused Azerbaijan of being “aggressively stubborn and destructive” and called on “global players” to help bring about a ceasefire, Reuters reports. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, speaking during a meeting with defense officials, accused Armenia of launching two ballistic missiles on the city of Ganja and of bombarding civilian sites. He said it was “very hazardous” for Armenia to want Russian military support in the conflict. About 30,000 people were killed in a 1991-94 war over Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenians consider it illegally occupied land that must be returned to their control.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-armenia-azerbaijan-usa/us-announces-new-nagorno-karabakh-ceasefire-as-fighting-persists-idUSKBN27A0XF