Yesterday evening, Monday 9 November, a Russian Mi-24 military helicopter was shot down1 from a MANPADS (MAN Portable Air-Defense System, ed) of the Azerbaijani forces of the Nahicevan enclave while flying over Armenian territory2. Event following which two Russian soldiers were killed and one wounded.
Note the timing with which Baku admitted the killing3 of the Russian aircraft, around 18.30 (Italian time), and shortly after the message from the president to express his congratulations on the election of the new American president Joe Biden4,5.
"We welcome the fact that Baku immediately admitted his guilt. We also note the assurances given by the Azerbaijani side that a timely investigation into this incident will be conducted and the perpetrators will be punished." - the Russian defense ministry said.
At the same time, the Azerbaijan Attorney General's Office announced the opening of an investigation into the destruction of the Russian Mi-24 helicopter in the skies of Armenia.
Later in the night, the Russians then forced their hand to obtain the signing for the truce from both sides6.
The success of the Moscow line appears evident (maintaining a certain equidistance between the two parties in question in order to confirm itself as a needle in the balance of regional balances). We will be able to assess in the coming days whether the practical implementation of this truce will be respected7.
The president of Artsakh (or Nagorno Karabakh) supported the truce: on the other hand, Shusha had also fallen and the Azeris were only 3 km from Stepanakert. Not many options remained: "If the hostilities continued at the same pace, we would lose all Artsakh in a few days", he has declared.
The reactions in the two countries involved are diametrically opposed. In Azerbaijan, the news was received with considerable enthusiasm8, while in Armenia there were strong protests that ended with the occupation of the parliament in the capital9.
However, it has been confirmed that the interposition forces in Nagorno Karabakh will only be Russian. They will be used for 5 years with an extension unless canceled 6 months before the deadline. The status of the region has not yet been defined, it will be the subject of further negotiations.
1https://tass.com/emergencies/1221615
2https://t.me/bbbreaking/70199
3https://t.me/sputniklive/12186
4https://apa.az/en/foreign-news/Azerbaijani-President-Ilham-Aliyev-congra...
5https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/azerbaijan-congratulates-biden-on-us-e...
7https://diplomaticnewspk.blogspot.com/2020/11/pashinyan-aliyev-and-putin...
8https://twitter.com/presidentaz/status/1325961739888975872?s=20
9https://twitter.com/joonisskys/status/1326000914998636544?s=20
