What is the Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan?

Team Udayavani, Nov 12, 2020, 2:08 PM IST

Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia have signed an agreement to end military conflict over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

While Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described the development as “unspeakably painful” in an emotional Facebook post, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev celebrated, tweeting, “This is a historic day, An end is being put to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

Under the deal, Azerbaijan will hold on to the areas it has taken during the conflict. Nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers would be deployed along the frontline. The two sides will also exchange prisoners of wars and bodies.

Refugees and internally displaced persons will return to the region and the adjacent territories. Significantly, a new corridor will be opened from Nakhchivan to Azerbaijan, which will be under Russian control.

According to AlJazeera, The deal came after Armenia lost control of a strategic city in Nagorno-Karabakh known as Shusha to Azerbaijan and Shushi to Armenians, and after the accidental downing of a Russian plane by Azeri forces.