Baku Considers Amnesty Possibility for Armenians Who Surrendered Weapons

Baku is contemplating the possibility of amnesty for residents of Nagorno-Karabakh who have surrendered their weapons. This was announced by Hikmet Hajiyev, the assistant to the Azerbaijani president for foreign policy issues.

“Even for former combatants, if they can be classified as such, we are considering the possibility of amnesty or we are also referring to amnesty,” Hajiyev's words were quoted by Reuters.

According to the assistant, Baku will allow members of the ‘Karabakh armed groups’ who have surrendered their weapons to leave. “At present, we see that certain individual groups and officers have made public statements indicating that they do not accept our terms and will continue their resistance,” he added.

It is noteworthy that Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack against Artsakh on September 19. The Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire along the entire front line, delivering missile strikes. Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense stated that it is conducting localized anti-terrorism measures. As a result of Azerbaijan's aggression, there are at least 200 casualties and over 400 injured.

On September 20, it was reported that the authorities of Artsakh accepted the proposal from the command of the Russian peacekeeping mission regarding the cessation of fire.

On September 21, a meeting took place in Azerbaijan’s Yevlakh, mediated by Russian peacekeepers, between representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan.