Tuesday, June 20 2023 12:38

ArmInfo.The fall of Shushi was the turning point for the signing of the trilateral statement by  Armenia's premier, the Azerbaijani and Russian presidents on November 9, 2020, Armenia's Premier Nikol Pashinyan stated at a meeting of the Parliamentary Commission for investigation of the circumstances of  the 44-day war. 

The developments proved a decisive role. After the fall of Shushi,  Stepanakert was the next target, with more pressure on Martuni and  25,000 Armenian servicemen in danger. The trilateral statement of  November 9, 2020, was the fifth attempt to end the hostilities. 

Armenia's premier has his first talk with Russian President Vladimir  Putin, who stated his readiness to mediate and end the hostilities  without any preconditions, with further discussions on compromise to  follow. 

"I stated that plan was acceptable to us," Armenia's premier said.  The same day he had a talk with the Russian president who informed  Pashinyan of his talk with President Ilham Aliyev, who, in turn,  declared Baku's unwillingness to agree to a ceasefire. Then Putin  promised that the next day he would talk with Aliyev again. The next  day, the President of the Russian Federation announced that the  Azerbaijani side was setting a precondition for the cessation of  hostilities - the surrender of the city of Fizuli by the Armenian  side, and the Armenian armed forces were to withdraw along the entire  length of the Araks River in order to take control of the Khudaferin  reservoir to provide irrigation. In addition, the Azerbaijani side  expected to return two of its citizens - Guliyev and Askerov,  convicted in Nagorno-Karabakh for the murder of civilians. At the  same time, it was not about the cessation of hostilities, but only  about a humanitarian truce in order to exchange the bodies of the  dead. In response, the Armenian side expressed its disagreement with  these conditions, believing that hostilities should be stopped  without any preconditions, since there were no guarantees that after  the retreat of the Armenian armed forces, Azerbaijan would not  continue the attacks. Yerevan, Pashinyan continued, offered a  compromise option on the joint use of the waters of the Khudaverdi  reservoir, it was also possible to return two Azerbaijani prisoners  of war if Baku agreed to transfer its soldiers who became prisoners  of war to the Armenian side.

The prime minister added that during the next conversation with the  President of the Russian Federation, which took place on October 8,  Vladimir Putin said that Azerbaijan was ready for a ceasefire at  midnight from October 9 to 10, 2020. To this end, the foreign  ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were sent to Moscow on October 9  to conduct negotiations through the mediation of Russian Foreign  Minister Sergei Lavrov. Also, an exchange of prisoners of war and the  bodies of dead soldiers was to take place. , Pashinyan noted, adding that  this initiative was acceptable to the Armenian side, in connection  with which it was ordered to maintain the ceasefire. However, after  an insignificant period of truce, Azerbaijan not only did not  maintain the ceasefire, but also intensified its attacks, already  attacking the settlements of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous  Region, exposing Stepanakert, Martakert to air strikes, attacking in  the direction of Hadrut. The Armenian troops were ordered to do  everything necessary to stop the attacks of the Azerbaijani Armed  Forces, while simultaneously making the necessary diplomatic efforts  to maintain the ceasefire, in accordance with the Moscow agreement.  As an option, the issue of deploying Russian peacekeepers in the zone  of contact between the troops of the parties, who would monitor the  situation and record existing violations, was considered. But  Azerbaijan has always avoided such a development of the situation,  continuing the hostilities.

Subsequently, as the RA Prime Minister noted, there were frequent  conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the main topic  of which was the issue of cessation of hostilities and maintaining  the ceasefire regime, but it was obvious that until the offensive of  the Azerbaijani Armed Forces was stopped he will not agree to a  cessation of hostilities. It was also clear that the ceasefire could  be resolved through the use of mutual concessions. However, efforts  to end hostilities during that period were unsuccessful.  On October  13, the Prime Minister continued, another telephone conversation took  place with the head of the Russian state, during which Pashinyan  raised a direct question about what the Armenian side should do to  stop hostilities. On October 16, Vladimir Putin expressed the idea of  the possibility of returning five regions to Azerbaijan in exchange  for the cessation of hostilities without specifying the status of  Nagorno- Karabakh. On October 17, French President Emmanuel Macron  came forward with his initiative, who informed the prime minister  about Baku's consent without preconditions to establish a truce at  midnight on October 18, but this proposal was not fulfilled by Baku  either. After that, on October 20, the President of Russia will allow  Pashinyan, saying that Azerbaijan is ready for a truce, provided that  not five, but seven regions are under his control, as well as the  possibility of returning Azerbaijanis to Shushi. "Today there is a  lot of talk about the possibility of stopping the war then, but I  allegedly missed this opportunity," the Prime Minister said.

According to Pashinyan, he agreed to sign the statement, but on the  condition that it does not contain provisions on Shushi and on an  extraterritorial corridor through the territory of Armenia. In  addition, the Armenian side offered to return the Agdam region under  the control of Azerbaijan in exchange for the Hadrut region, which by  that time was already under the control of Azerbaijan.

He added that by midnight, reports began to come in of an increase in  the intensity of hostilities, as well as a large number of drones in  the sky over Stepanakert. After complex and lengthy discussions, the  head of the Armenian government stressed, a well-known document was  signed, which was worse than the version on the morning of November  9, but better than those that suggested a corridor through Meghri or  the transfer of Soviet enclaves in the Tavush region.