(video) : Russian forces withdraw from Azerbaijan’s Karabakh.
Russian peacekeepers have fully accomplished their mission in Nagorno-Karabakh, Viktor Bondarev, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Committee on Defense and Security, said.
Earlier, Hikmet Hajiyev, Azerbaijani presidential aide and head of the presidential administration’s foreign policy department, said that the early withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Azerbaijan had begun on Wednesday based on a decision made jointly by the top leadership of the two countries.
“I believe that the Russian peacekeepers have fully accomplished their mission and their early return home will bring joy to their families and friends,” Bondarev wrote on Telegram. He expressed hope that the Karabakh conflict would now be considered resolved and settled.
According to a statement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on November 9, 2020, a Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh. The mission comprised 1,960 troops armed with light weapons, as well as 90 armored personnel carriers and 380 motor and special vehicles. The Russian peacekeeping mission was based on a five-year mandate, which could be automatically extended for another five years, provided none of the parties announced plans to terminate the provision six months before the mandate’s expiration.
Russian media release footage of the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers and their equipment from Azerbaijan's Karabakh. pic.twitter.com/yg5hi7KZO1
— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 17, 2024
On September 19, 2023, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced the start of a military operation. Yerevan, in turn, described what was happening as “an act of large-scale aggression” and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian forces. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening “an act of large-scale aggression.” Russia called on the parties to end the bloodshed and return to efforts to resolve the issue diplomatically. On September 20, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that an agreement on the suspension of the anti-terrorist measures in Karabakh had been reached through the mediation of Russia’s peacekeeping mission.
Process of withdrawal of #Russian peacekeeping contingent from #Azerbaijan starts#karabakhhttps://t.co/MBfzTavz2v pic.twitter.com/yA8pjUdGIF
— APA News Agency (@APA_English) April 16, 2024
President of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree on September 28 to dissolve the unrecognized state from January 1, 2024.