Azerbaijan 'envisages amnesty' for Armenian separatists who give up arms

Azerbaijan envisages an amnesty for Karabakh Armenian separatists who give up their arms, though there have been some Karabakh military units which have said they will continue their resistance, an Azerbaijani presidential adviser has said.

Ethnic Armenians in Karabakh said on Thursday they needed security guarantees before giving up their weapons after Azerbaijan declared it had brought the breakaway region back under its control after a 24-hour military operation.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also said the region would live in "paradise" as part of Azerbaijan.

Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijan's president, told Reuters in a television interview that Baku envisaged an amnesty for those Karabakh militants who gave up their weapons.

"Even with regard to former militaries and combatants, if they can be classified in such a way, and even for them we are envisaging an amnesty or alluding to an amnesty as well," Hajiyev said.

Karabakh Armenian rights would be respected as part of their integration into Azerbaijan, he said, adding that they had requested humanitarian support as well as oil and gasoline supplies. Three cargos of humanitarian help would be delivered to the region on Friday, he said.

"Currently we are seeing that some individual army groups and officers that made the public statements that they won't come to our terms and will continue resistance," he said.

"We also see that some minor groups are going to the forest," he said. "But we do not see that to be the biggest challenge, and big security challenge. Of course this will cause certain challenges and difficulties but not on a such a big scale."

Karabakh, a strategically located region of Azerbaijan bordering Armenia and Iran, has long been a source of tension between Baku and Yerevan. Since 1994, Armenian separatists have been occupying Karabakh, despite its international recognition as part of Azerbaijan.

In 2020, a war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which supplies weapons and other aid to the separatists. With the help of Turkish-made drones, Baku emerged victorious in the 44-day conflict, which is known as the Second Karabakh War. More than 6,000 people, including civilians from both sides, were killed.

Since then, an uneasy peace has prevailed in Karabakh, where Russia has deployed around 2,000 peacekeepers to maintain the status quo.

Protests in Armenia

In related developments, anti-government demonstrators took to the streets of Yerevan on Friday for a third day to protest the government's handling of the Karabakh issue.

Armenian separatists's decision to lay down arms and dismantle their military following a lightning offensive by Baku sparked mass anti-government rallies in Yerevan, with opposition parties demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Opposition leaders have announced plans to initiate Pashinyan's impeachment in parliament.

On Friday morning, small groups of protesters were blocking streets across the Armenian capital, vowing to hamper the holding of Pashinyan's cabinet meeting scheduled later in the day.

Police detained opposition politician Andranik Tevanyan, one of the protest organisers.

On Wednesday and Thursday, dozens of protesters were detained outside Pashinyan's offices following riots that saw demonstrators throwing bottles and stones, attempting to break into the building.

Riot police have used stun grenades and warned they would use "special measures" if the clashes continued.

Pashinyan said on Thursday evening that his government "will be acting firmly but in line with law" against the rioters.

"My appeal, the government's appeal remains the same: remain calm and don't cross the limits of law in this emotional and difficult time," he said in a televised address.