Azerbaijan Extends Armenian Troops' Withdrawal from Kalbajar Until 25 Nov.

On Sunday, Presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev said that Azerbaijan decided to extend the deadline for the withdrawal of the Armenian troops from disputed Kalbajar region until 25 November.

In a briefing, Hajiyev added that they have agreed to give time to Armenia, stressing that the schedule for the withdrawal of Armenia’s troops from Lachin and Aghdam regions remains unchanged.

The presidential aide said that Azerbaijan is monitoring the process of withdrawal of the Armenian forces and civilians from the occupied territories by using technological capabilities.

On November 14, the Russian and Azerbaijani presidents discussed by phone practical aspects of implementation of the ceasefire deal. They hailed the fact that ceasefire is being observed and that the situation in the region is calm.

Under the deal signed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan on November 10, the Armenian armed forces were to completely withdraw from Kalbajar on November 15.

The declaration envisages the de-occupation of Azerbaijan’s Aghdam and Lachin regions by December 1 as well as the return of Azerbaijani IDPs to Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions under the control of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The November peace agreement ended the 30-years-old conflict between Baku and Yerevan over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region that along with the seven adjacent districts came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the early 1990s.

For nearly three decades, Armenia failed to implement the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) demanding the withdrawal of its troops, which was the main obstacle to the resolution of the conflict.

The clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed after Armenia launched large-scale attacks on Azerbaijani forces and civilians on September 27. Five Azerbaijani civilians were killed on the first day of the Armenian attacks. Ninety-three Azerbaijani civilians were killed in Armenian's indiscriminate attacks on Azerbaijani civilians. Azerbaijan launched counter-offensive operations that ended in the liberation of over 300 settlements, villages. Azerbaijan also liberated five city centres and the historic Shusha city.