The Bishkek Protocol was a provisional

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

agreement, signed by the representatives of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, the unrecognized

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

, and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

on May 12, 1994, in

Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...

, the capital of

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

. The protocol ended the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

and the conflict entered a frozen state. The ceasefire was breached on a number of occasions, particularly during the 2008 clashes, 2016 clashes and during the

Second Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, surrounding occupied territories. It was a major esca ...

in 2020. Two more ceasefire agreements have been reached – in 2020 and in 2023.

Background

Bishkek was proposed by Kyrgyz representative Medetkhan Sheremkulov who was head of negotiating group, and offered to proceed discussions in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan after the first meeting between parliamentarians of Azerbaijan and Armenia on ceasing fire in Nagorno-Karabakh was held in

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...

. Talks between Azerbaijani and Armenian delegations continued for hours. A representative of Azerbaijan Afiyaddin Jalilov questioned the legitimacy of the participation of Armenians who lived in Karabakh, and required to include the name of Nizami Bakhmanov, a member of his delegation who was the mayor of

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

in Nagorno-Karabakh in the protocol. The protocol and these points were a subject of discussions between President

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev (10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to ...

and Kazimirov where it was agreed to include signature of Nizami Bakhmanov into the protocol. Vladimir Kazimirov stated the following in his memoirs: "Aliyev agreed. At the end of the page, two alterations were written in a legible handwriting in Russian. The name of N. Bakhmanov was written by hand but they could not find him in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

for signature. On May 9, I took a copy of the text to Moscow with two alterations and the name of Bakhmanov but without his signature."

Signatories

: Afiyaddin Jalilov (First Deputy

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Speaker) *

: ( President of the National Assembly) *

Babken Ararktsyan Babken Gurgeni Ararktsyan (, 16 September 1944 – 12 December 2023) was an Armenian politician. He was Chairman of the Supreme Council from 1991 to 1995 and Speaker of the National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a uni ...

( Chairman of the Supreme Council) *

: V. Shumeyko (Chairman of the Council of Federation of Russia) *

: M. Sherimkulov (

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan *

OSCE Minsk Group The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), now Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the conflict between ...

: Vladimir Kazimirov (Head of the Russian Mediation Mission) * CIS: M. Krotov (

Interparliamentary Assembly The Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) is a parliamentary assembly for delegations from the national parliaments of the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CI ...

)

References

External links

Full text of the Bishkek ProtocolOfficial version in EnglishText of all peace accords between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Ceasefires Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process History of Bishkek Treaties of Armenia Treaties of Azerbaijan Treaties concluded in 1994 Treaties of Russia Treaties of the Republic of Artsakh May 1994 in Asia {{Treaty-stub

Background

Signatories

See also

References

External links