Azerbaijan links its power grid with Armenian-populated city in Karabakh

Electricity supply from Azerbaijan's main energy grid was linked to the Armenian-populated city of Khankendi in the Karabakh region on Sunday.

A statement from the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration said power supply in Khankendi had been disconnected from Armenia's energy system.

The statement said electricity is now being provided to Khankendi from the substation center in Shusha, adding "now, the light of Azerbaijan is shining in Khankendi."

On Tuesday, two people were killed when a truck belonging to an Azerbaijani government institution hit a mine on the Ahmadbayli-Fuzuli-Shusha highway in the Jabrayil region. Four police officers who responded to the scene were also killed when their vehicle struck another mine.

Later, Azerbaijan said it launched "counter-terrorism" measures in its Karabakh region to uphold provisions outlined in a trilateral peace agreement with Russia and Armenia to end a 2020 conflict.

On Wednesday morning, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said that under an agreement achieved with the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in the region it decided to halt the counter-terrorism activities.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The war ended with a Russia-brokered cease-fire.