After Russia and France, the initiative to cease fire was taken by the last, third country of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the United States. There is a document posted on the US State Department website, which states that the humanitarian ceasefire will take effect in 2020. October 26 at 8 o'clock local time.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry issued a statement later, detailing that the Armenian and Azeri FMs met with the US Deputy Secretary of State on October 24 and reaffirmed their countries' commitment to implementing and maintaining the humanitarian ceasefire agreements reached in Moscow on October 10 and reaffirmed on October 17 by the Paris Declaration.
Yerevan and Stepanakert welcomed the ceasefire agreement.
The US President congratulated Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev on the ceasefire agreement, he wrote on Twitter, saying that the leaders of the two countries agreed to adhere to the agreement.
Hours before the ceasefire agreement, US President Donald Trump announced about it during a pre-election rally in New Hampshire, noting that that he would reach a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, calling it a "light case." The White House spokesman said it was easy, "if you know what you're doing."
The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs also issued a joint statement, noting that they discussed with the Foreign Ministers the immediate implementation of the humanitarian ceasefire and possible criteria for monitoring the ceasefire in accordance with the October 10 joint statement initiative.
After reaching an agreement on a humanitarian ceasefire in the United States, the Azeri Defense Ministry hurried to accuse the Armenian side of grossly violating the ceasefire before 8 am, but later withdrew the information. The statement came from the Artsakh Defense Ministry.
Minutes later, the Azeri Defense Ministry spread another misinformation, noting that Armenian forces were shelling Azerbaijani positions in the southern direction. The Ministry of Defense of the Artsakh Republic, meanwhile, states that the units of the Defense Army strictly follow the agreements reached, and the accusations of the hostile side are not only untrue, but also made in the context of preparing information ground for the latter's further provocations.
By Vardan Hovsepyan
