Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan to hold peace talks with Armenian separatists

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00 Azerbaijan's president is hailing it as a victory for his country.

00:05 In a televised address, Ilham Aliyev said his nation had restored its sovereignty by

00:10 getting Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh to put down their arms following what Azerbaijan

00:15 called its anti-terrorist operation.

00:18 His welcoming of the ceasefire came with backhanded praise for Armenia.

00:24 "Yesterday, today, Armenia's leadership surprisingly demonstrated unexpected political competence.

00:39 We appreciate this and consider it an important factor."

00:45 But Armenia says it had no part in the truce negotiations.

00:49 The prime minister accused Azerbaijan of launching the operation as a pretext.

00:55 "The fact that the name of the Republic of Armenia was cited in a text that has no direct

01:01 connection with it is meant as further justification for the approach of yesterday's attacks.

01:06 The aim was solely to pull the Republic of Armenia towards military operation."

01:13 This week's violence is just the latest in years of tensions over the region.

01:17 A flare-up of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020 left almost 7,000 people

01:23 dead.

01:24 Russia has been the peacekeeper in the region since then.

01:27 As Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the ceasefire, Armenia urged Moscow to ensure

01:32 that ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh would be protected and would be able to remain

01:37 there.

01:38 After the truce, the next step is reintegration talks, potentially bringing the disputed region

01:43 fully under Azerbaijani control.

01:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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