YEREVAN. Nov 13 (Interfax) - People in certain regions of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) awaiting a handover to Azerbaijan consistent with the trilateral statement of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia are burning down their houses.
Videos and photos have been posted on social media featuring residents of the Lachin, Kelbajar, and Agdam regions burning down their houses, shops, and other buildings before leaving those areas.
The trilateral agreement binds Armenia to return the Agdam region to Azerbaijan before November 20, the Kelbajar region before November 15, and the Lachin region before December 1.
Public unrest and protests broke out in Yerevan on November 10 after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev adopted a trilateral statement on a ceasefire and the deployment of peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh. The statement also stipulates a handover of several areas in the region to Azerbaijan. Some people in Armenia interpreted the move as an unjustified decision to capitulate and demanded Pashinyan resign.