Bergkarabach

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has agreed to hold early general elections in June in an effort to defuse a political crisis sparked by the war with Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Thousands of Armenian opposition supporters have blockaded the parliament building in Yerevan to press a demand for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian to resign. … Pashinian has faced mounting protests and calls from the opposition for his resignation following a six-week conflict between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh last year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday brought together the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for the first time since a war last year over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, an effort to resolve problems that risk undermining the deal that ended the conflict.

A joint Turkish and Russian observation center to monitor a cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region started operations after an opening ceremony with senior defense officials in attendance on January 30.

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to work together to develop Nagorno-Karabakh following decades of conflict, but failed to resolve several challenges that could stymie the success of a Kremlin-brokered peace deal in the South Caucasus.

[…] Aivazian visited the region on January 5 , where he met with the separatist government’s de facto Foreign Minister David Babayan and signed a program of consultations.

Russian mediation succeeded in ending the six-week war in Nagorno-Karabakh but left much unresolved, chiefly the region’s future status. If the cessation of hostilities is to become a sustainable peace, the parties should start by cooperating on humanitarian relief and trade before tackling larger questions.

Azerbaijani authorities said the sides had agreed to an all-for-all exchange of prisoners, and that a plane with some of the captives landed in Azerbaijan on December 14.

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Russian peacekeepers deployed to the region to monitor the peace deal reported a violation of the cease-fire in the Gadrut region Friday. The report issued Saturday by the Russian Defense Ministry didn't assign blame.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the continuing ceasefire in and around Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday, underlining that the Organization stands ready to provide humanitarian support to meet the needs of all civilians impacted by conflict.