Armenia’s National Security chief Armen Grigoryan announced that Yerevan and Baku reached a ceasefire deal at 8 p.m. on Wednesday through the mediation of the international community. At the same time reports emanating from the United Nations Security Council suggested that a unanimous decision was made to support “the earliest possible ceasefire.”
The UN Security Council met behind closed doors on Wednesday at the behest of France, whose president Emmanuel Macron pledged to place Azerbaijan’s latest attack on Armenia on the international body’s agenda.
Russia’s representative to the U.N Vasily Nebenzya told the Tass news agency that the participants of U.N. Security Council session “were unanimous in their support of the earliest possible ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the settlement of the situation by political and diplomatic means.”
“Naturally, it would not be possible to have a ceasefire without an agreement. Let’s hope that Azerbaijan will continue to observe it,” said Grigoryan told Armenia’s Public Television on Wednesday.
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The Ministry of Defense said earlier that shooting had almost stopped in all directions beginning at 8 p.m. local after nearly two days of heavy fighting.
Russia reportedly insisted that in the press announcement regarding the U.N. Security Council decision contain references to the agreement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia in 2020 and in 2021, as they contain specific points regarding relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Nebenzya, the Russian envoy, said that his country also presented steps that could be taken by the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Interfax reported. Nebenzya did not provide details and only said that the U.N. Security Council expressed its gratitude to Russia for its input on the matter.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as well as the State Department, have been calling on Russia to use its influence in the region to stabilize the situation. A ceasefire that went into effect at 9 a.m. Tuesday and was brokered by Russia did not hold as Azerbaijani forces continued their attack on Armenia.
