Armenia declares no-fly zone in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh

The Armenian defence ministry declared a no-fly zone in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, except for military aircraft, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Thursday.

Thousands of protesters on Wednesday gathered in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan step down over a ceasefire that secured territorial advances for Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, the subject of six weeks of fighting.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday diplomats from France and the United States were expected in Moscow soon to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Russia has brokered a ceasefire that secured territorial advances for Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, where Azeri troops have been battling ethnic Armenian forces over the past six weeks.

The accord, which also envisages the stationing of Russian peacekeeping troops in Nagorno-Karabakh has triggered protests in Armenia for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Moscow co-chairs an international group overseeing the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute with Washington and Paris, but the latter were not involved in the ceasefire deal, which was signed between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Turkey, which has backed Azerbaijan over the conflict, signed a protocol with Russia on Wednesday to establish a joint centre to coordinate efforts to monitor the peace deal, agreed after three previous ceasefire attempts quickly broke down.

The details of the monitoring have yet to be worked out and Turkish and Russian officials are due to meet in Ankara on Friday to discuss them.