Azerbaijan leader says Karabakh offensive restored ‘sovereignty’

Azerbaijan’s president said Wednesday that his nation “restored its sovereignty” by waging an offensive against Armenian-backed separatists on its territory, and signaled a possible future peace treaty with Yerevan.

The stunning collapse of separatist resistance in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh marks a major victory for President Ilham Aliyev in his quest to bring the Armenian-majority territory back under Baku’s control.

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In a televised address to the nation, Aliyev said: “Azerbaijan restored its sovereignty as a result of successful anti-terrorist measures in Karabakh.”

“Illegal Armenian units have begun the process of withdrawal from their positions. They accepted our terms and began surrendering their arms,” he added.

Under the truce deal, the separatists said they had agreed to fully dismantle their army and that Armenia would pull out any forces it had in the region.

Both sides said talks on reintegrating the breakaway territory into the rest of Azerbaijan would be held on Thursday in the city of Yevlakh.

Aliyev also hinted at a possible peace treaty with Armenia, and said Armenia had shown “competence” over the past two days.

“Armenia, surprisingly, showed political competence, we value this ... the developments that took place yesterday and today will have a positive impact on the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” he said.

Russian peacekeepers said Wednesday evening that a previously agreed ceasefire was holding and that there were no violations recorded.

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