Russian servicemen take part in military exercises at the Kapustin Yar range in Astrakhan region, Southern Russia on Friday during the "Caucasus-2020" military drills gathering China, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar troops, along with ex-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. (Photo: AFP)
Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on a deal with Russia to end weeks of fierce clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday, after a string of Azerbaijani victories in its fight to retake the disputed region.
Hundreds of Russian peacekeepers were en route to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh just hours after an early morning cease-fire took effect.
But the agreement sparked outrage in Armenia, with angry protesters storming the government headquarters in the capital Yerevan where they ransacked offices and broke windows.
Crowds also entered parliament and demanded the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who earlier described his participation in the accord as "unspeakably painful for me personally and for our people."
"I have taken this decision as a result of an in-depth analysis of the military situation," he added.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said Pashinyan had been left with no choice but to agree.
"An iron hand forced him to sign this document," Aliyev said in televised remarks. "This is essentially a capitulation."
Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that both Armenia and Azerbaijan had agreed to "a total cease-fire" that would create the conditions for a long-term settlement of the conflict.
He said the two sides would hold on to areas under their control and that Russian peacekeepers would deploy along front lines and to secure a corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenian territory.
Putin said displaced people would be allowed to return to the region and there would be exchanges of prisoners and bodies from the fighting.
Russian news agencies quoted the defense ministry as saying 1,960 peacekeepers would be deployed with 90 armored vehicles.
The ministry said several Il-76 aircraft carrying the first peacekeepers and their equipment had taken off from an airfield in Russia.
Aliyev said Armenia had agreed to a timetable to withdraw its forces from large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and that Azerbaijan's ally Turkey would be involved in implementing the cease-fire.
AFP