Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia sign Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal

Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia have signed an agreement to end military conflict over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The peace deal takes effect on Tuesday from 01:00 local time (21:00 GMT Monday).

It comes after six weeks of fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians.

The region is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani, but has been run by ethnic Armenians since 1994.

Since fighting began, a number of ceasefire agreements brokered during the conflict have all failed.

The Armenians have steadily lost territory and over the weekend Azeri forces took over the region's second largest town Shusha.

Azerbaijan has also admitted to mistakenly shooting down a Russian military helicopter over Armenia, killing two crew members and injuring a third.

Under the agreement, it's believed that Armenia will give up more territory around Nagorno-Karabakh, in return for retaining the land it still holds inside.

During a televised online address, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian peacekeepers will be deployed to patrol the frontlines.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, who joined President Putin, called the deal "a [crucial] point in the settlement of the conflict," according to Reuters news agency.

But in a post on social media, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan said the agreement was "incredibly painful both for me and both for our people".

He added that his decision was based on "deep analyses of the combat situation and in discussion with best experts of the field".

"This is not a victory but there is not defeat until you consider yourself defeated," the Armenian prime minister.