MOSCOW (RUSSIA) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that both Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region to exchange prisoners and bodies of those killed in the clashes between Azeria and ethnic Armenian forces.
It is for the first time that both warring sides have made diplomatic contacts since fighting erupted on Sept. 27, killing hundreds. The ceasefire will begin at 12 pm.
The Russian foreign minister announced the ceasefire at 3 am (midnight GMT) after marathon talks running into 10 hours in Moscow with his Armenian and Azeri counterparts. He also said that both sides have agreed to begin discussions to resolve the issue.
The top Russian diplomat said that the International Red Cross would be the intermediary in the humanitarian operation.
Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and his Azeri counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov did not address the media.