Armenia did not help draft Karabakh ceasefire, says PM

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Wednesday that Yerevan did not take part in drafting a ceasefire agreement between separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, but he that hoped it would hold.

Pashinyan made the address on television after Karabakh separatists and Baku announced they had reached a ceasefire deal and would hold talks on integrating the disputed region into Azerbaijan.

"Armenia did not participate in drafting the text of the ceasefire declaration in Nagorno-Karabakh under the mediation of Russian peacekeepers," Pashinyan said.

He reiterated that Yerevan "does not have an army" in the separatist-controlled enclave.

Pashinyan said Yerevan had "taken note" of separatist declarations, which included agreeing to a meeting with Azerbaijani authorities on integrating Karabakh into Azerbaijan.

The Armenian leader has faced protests at home since losing a 2020 war with Azerbaijan over Karabakh.

Pashinyan said he hoped Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh - deployed in 2020 as part of a Russian-brokered peace deal - would ensure the ceasefire held.

"We hope that military escalation will not continue, because in the current conditions it is very important to ensure stability and stop combat actions," he said.

He called on Moscow's mission to "ensure the safety of Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenians, to create conditions for Armenians to preserve the right to live in their homes, on their land".

Pashinyan has criticised the role of the Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh in recent months, leading to some diplomatic spats with Armenia's traditional ally Russia.