Moscow, Nov. 18, (dpa/GNA) – There will be no discussion of special status for the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, because it is part of Azerbaijan, said that country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, on Tuesday.
Nagorno-Karabakh has long been under the effective control of groups linked to Armenia, even though it is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. But the balance of power has shifted significantly in recent weeks after an Azerbaijani thrust to restore control, which prompted Armenia to cede territory.
A peace deal negotiated last week by Russia leaves open the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia has demanded talks on the subject. However, Aliyev’s Tuesday comments seem to shut the door on that avenue.
He said ethnic Armenians still in the region would now live under the new policies. Much of the region is populated by people who are ethnically Armenian – which was one of the reasons the Armenian-backed groups claimed control a quarter century ago. However, it also contains many sites that are of patriotic importance to Azerbaijan.
But speaking later on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated that the deal leaves the region’s status unclear, a direct contradiction to Aliyev’s statement.
Putin had said earlier on Tuesday that the peace seems to be holding.
“The fighting has completely stopped, the situation has stabilized,” he said in Moscow. There are about 2,000 Russian peacekeepers in the region at present, and they are about to be joined by Turkish forces.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have exchanged 200 bodies of the fallen from the recent fighting so far, Russian state media reported on Tuesday, citing the Red Cross.
The bodies were exchanged in the presence of Russian peacekeeping troops, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, was quoted as saying.
A Red Cross spokesperson dealing with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict did not confirm the number of bodies that were exchanged, but said that the process began last week.
The Red Cross’ priority is now to track down the remaining dead. Armenia has said that hundreds of its troops are still missing.
Officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said about 1,505 soldiers died during six weeks of fighting. Azerbaijan, citing rules of warfare, has not commented on losses among its forces.
Aliyev and his wife, first vice president Mehriban Aliyeva, took a trip around parts of the region on Monday, Azerbaijani state media reported.
With Aliyev smiling, the couple posed for photos in the region’s Jabrayil district, according to a post on Aliyeva’s Twitter account.
“Behind you see the centre of Jabrayil. The enemy destroyed the entire infrastructure. They will answer for this in international courts,” Aliyev said in a video posted by state media.
Turkey’s parliament voted late on Tuesday to send troops and civilian personnel to monitor the ceasefire deal. The mandate allows President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to decide on the timing and scope of the deployment and the number of personnel to be sent, according to state news agency Anadolu.
Turkish forces will cooperate with their Russian counterparts in Nagorno-Karabah, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said, according to Anadolu.
But Putin said after the vote that any Turkish troops will have to remain in areas that clearly are part of Azerbaijan. Any Turkish presence in Nagorno-Karabakh would be a provocation to Armenia, he said.
He added that Turkey has agreed to those conditions.
The peacekeeping proposals have raised eyebrows. The US State Department says it has questions.
Meanwhile, in Armenia, anger is building about the loss of territorial control. Protests against the government are becoming a regular event in the aftermath of the peace deal, which the opposition has threatened to undo.
But Putin warned Armenia from pursuing any policies that would violate the ceasefire, warning that doing so would be “suicide,” in comments to broadcaster Rossija-24.
Armenia’s foreign minister and civil security minister have already stepped down in reaction to the protests.
GNA