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Russia Calls Nagorno-Karabakh Truce Win for All, But Armenians Protest

Jamie Dettmer

   Armenia's opposition parties have reacted with fury to a
   Kremlin-brokered cease-fire aimed at ending weeks of fighting with
   Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

   For a second day Wednesday, thousands of the parties' supporters defied
   a pandemic-related ban on street rallies to protest in the capital,
   Yerevan, against a truce they see as an abject surrender. Under the
   agreement, several areas were ceded to Azerbaijan, which had gained a
   critical military advantage.

   On Tuesday, protesters stormed and ransacked some government buildings
   in Yerevan to vent their anger over the cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh,
   an enclave that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but
   is governed by ethnic Armenians with the backing of Yerevan.

   After six weeks of intense fighting, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
   Pashinyan announced the truce'¯Tuesday on his Facebook page, dubbing it
   a "painful" settlement.

   "This is a big failure and disaster," he said Tuesday.

   Pashinyan said he took personal responsibility for the setbacks, but
   added he concluded the deal under pressure from army chiefs who feared
   that without it, Azerbaijan might seize the whole enclave.

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