Armenia Agreed to Ceasefire on October 19, Ruben Rubinyan Reveals What Happened Next

Armenian National Assembly Vice President Ruben Rubinyan elaborated on why the war launched against Artsakh by the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem on September 27, 2020, did not cease on October 19, despite the possibility suggested by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Rubinyan emphasized that Armenia agreed to cease hostilities on October 19, 2020, but Azerbaijan imposed a new precondition, which required the return of refugees to Shushi.

“First, I would like to remind you that during the 44-day war in Artsakh, three agreements were reached for a ceasefire: on October 10 in Moscow, which was not respected; why? Because Azerbaijan was not willing to observe the ceasefire. The next was on October 16, mediated by the President of France, which again was not upheld. The next one was on October 26 in the USA, which also was not honored,” Rubinyan said.

Rubinyan recounted that on October 19, a meeting of the Security Council was held to discuss the issue of halting the war. “Thoughts were raised about considering the cessation of hostilities based on Russian proposals (I do not mean new proposals), meaning surrendering territories. On October 19, Armenia agreed to this. However, it did not happen because Azerbaijan put forward a new condition that the return of refugees to Shushi must also take place. There is a very important factor here: the key to the negotiations surrounding the Artsakh conflict and the final status of Artsakh lies with the people; it is the people who determine the status of Artsakh. To have Artsakh without an interim status, which includes Shushi, where Azerbaijanis live, would practically mean that Shushi would be outside of Armenian control.

Armenia has repeatedly tried to stop the war during the conflict, and each time it was not successful due to Azerbaijan, not Armenia,” Rubinyan concluded.