The announcement of a ceasefire in the disputed enclave on Wednesday appeared to involve the de facto capitulation of local defence forces and looked set to fuel the political unrest in Armenia, piling pressure on Pashinyan.

Dozens of civilians and troops were killed and wounded in the mountainous South Caucasus region, according to local officials, in what Baku said was an “anti-terrorist operation” to dismantle the longstanding Nagorno-Karabakh government and eliminate “illegal Armenian military formations”.

Many in Yerevan believe that Baku’s ultimate goal is to ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory, of its predominantly Armenian population estimated to number about 120,000.

Pashinyan, who led Armenia through its defeat in the second Karabakh war three years ago, made it clear from the start of the fighting that he did not intend to authorise a military intervention to counter the Azerbaijani offensive.

As Russian peacekeepers, believed to number about 2,000 soldiers, appeared either powerless or disinclined to intervene during the 24 hours of conflict, Baku also seemed to rebuff international calls for peace from the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and other western diplomats.

Traditionally strong ties between Russia and Armenia have frayed in recent years as Moscow, mired in its own war in Ukraine, has done little to prevent Azerbaijan tightening its grip over Nagorno-Karabakh – including with a nine-month blockade that led to major food shortages.

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