The ceasefire agreement that came into force at midnight on May 11-12, 1994, was a response to the ceasefire appeal stated in the Bishkek Protocol, which was signed on May 8, 1994, at the meeting of the parliamentary delegations from the CIS countries. Three military chiefs signed the document on the ceasefire; Mamedrafi Mamedov, Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan, on May 9 in Baku, his counterpart Serzh Sarkisian on May 11 in Yerevan, and Samvel Babayan, the “Karabakh Armenian commander” on May 11, 1994, in Stepanakert. The ceasefire agreement urged the parties to ensure a complete ceasefire and stop military operations from 00:01 on May 12, 1994. According to the document, “on May 12, before 23:00, the parties [would] exchange the texts of their orders about ceasefire with the purpose of their possible mutual supplementation and unification of basic provisions of similar documents in future,” and agreement would come into force immediately after authorized representatives of the conflicting parties signed identical document.[1]

[1] “The Ceasefire Agreement,” May 1994, Peace Agreements Database; https://www.peaceagreements.org/view/990. Accessed on December 3, 2022.