The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement is an armistice agreement that ended the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. It was signed on 9 November by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, and ended all hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region from 00:00, 10 November 2020 Moscow time. The president of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, also agreed to an end of hostilities.
Renewed hostilities between Azerbaijan and the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, supported by Armenia, began on 27 September 2020. Azerbaijan made several territorial gains over the following six weeks which culminated in the capture of the strategically important town Shusha and prompted the two sides to agree to a ceasefire deal on 9 November 2020.
According to the agreement both parties will exchange prisoners of war and the dead. Furthermore, the Armenian forces will withdraw from Armenian-controlled territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh by 1 December. A 2,000-strong Russian peacekeeping force from the Russian Ground Forces will be deployed to the region for a minimum of five years to protect the Lachin corridor, which is situated between Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh region. According to Azerbaijan, Turkish forces will also take part in the peacekeeping process. Additionally, Azerbaijan will gain passage to its Nakhchivan exclave, which is detached from Azerbaijan, through a strip of land in Armenia’s Syunik Province close to the border with Iran. Russian forces will oversee security for the roads connecting Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan.
Terms of the agreement
The agreement (“The Statement by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and President of the Russian Federation”) states the following:
We, the President of Azerbaijan, I. Aliyev, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia N.V. Pashinyan and President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, state the following:
A complete ceasefire and end to all hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from 00:00 Moscow time on 10 November 2020. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, hereinafter referred to as the parties stop at the current territorial positions they occupy.
Agdam District returns to the Republic of Azerbaijan by 20 November 2020.
Along the frontline in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor there will be a peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation with 1960 military personnel with small arms, 90 armoured personnel carriers, 380 military vehicles and other special equipment.
The peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is deployed in parallel with the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh. The duration of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is 5years with automatic renewal for the next 5-year period if none of the parties state otherwise 6months in advance.
In order to improve the effectiveness of control over the implementation by the Parties to the conflict agreements, a peacekeeping command post is being installed in order to enforce the ceasefire.
The Republic of Armenia will return to Azerbaijan the Kalbajar District by 15 of November 2020, later extended to 25 November, and the Lachin District by 1 December. The Lachin corridor (5 km (3.1 mi) wide) which will provide access from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia remains under the control of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation. The town of Shusha located within the corridor will remain in Azeri possession. By agreement of the Parties, a construction plan will be determined in the next three years for a new route of movement along the Lachin corridor, providing a link between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia with the subsequent redeployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to guard this route. The Republic of Azerbaijan guarantees the safety of traffic along the Lachin corridor of citizens, vehicles, and goods in both directions.
Internally displaced persons and refugees return to the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent areas under the control of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees.
The exchange of prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees is to be made, as well as the remains of casualties.
All economic activity and transport links in the region are to be unrestricted. The Republic of Armenia guarantees the safety of transport links between western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in order to organise the unimpeded movement of citizens, vehicles and cargo in both directions. Transport control is carried out by the bodies of the Border Service of the FSB of Russia. By agreement of the Parties, the construction of new infrastructure linking the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with regions of Azerbaijan is to take place
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement
Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev signing the agreement via videoconference