Moscow-brokered peace deal sparks protests in Armenia, celebrations in Azerbaijan

Russian peacekeepers have departed for Nagorno-Karabakh after Moscow brokered a peace deal that sparked celebrations in Azerbaijan and protests in Armenia. The truce, announced late on Monday night, calls for the deployment of nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to the disputed enclave, where Azerbaijan will receive significant territorial concessions from an Armenian-backed local government.

The ceasefire is likely to end a six-week war in which Azerbaijan launched its largest offensive in a generation to retake Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions under Armenian control. Since fighting began in late September, thousands have been killed and more than 100,000 displaced in the worst fighting since the early 1990s.

News of the deal set off a political shockwave in the Armenian capital. Hundreds of people took to the streets and stormed government buildings soon after Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the deal early on Tuesday.

Windows were smashed and broken glass littered the lobby of Pashinyan’s official residence. Protesters ripped his nameplate off his office door as others chanted “Nikol has betrayed us.” Police officers looked on as demonstrators – including some army veterans wearing military fatigues – filled the ornate, wood-panelled offices, shouting and delivering furious speeches.

Crowds also forced their way into the Armenian parliament as brawls broke out on the podium and objects were thrown. The parliament’s speaker, Ararat Mirzoyan, was caught up in the violence and beaten unconscious by an angry mob.

Pashinyan and senior figures in the Nagorno-Karabakh administration said they were forced to sue for peace. Azerbaijani forces had captured the enclave’s strategically positioned town of Shusha and appeared to be within striking distance of the region’s largest city, Stepanakert.