Russian “peacekeepers” began to leave the territory of the former unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Azerbaijan returned to its control.
This was reported by the Azerbaijani media WHAT and Musawat. More information later confirmed Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov.
The first Russian “peacekeepers” and military equipment left the territory of the Khudawang temple in the Kelbajar district a few days ago. Now the monastery is guarded by the Azerbaijani police.
Musavat, citing sources, writes that Russian “peacekeepers” are also leaving the base in Khojaly. According to the publication, the Russian contingent will leave the territory of Azerbaijan in a few days.
Russian “peacekeepers” have been on the territory of unrecognized Karabakh since November 10, 2020. According to the terms of the agreement between Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on the termination of the Second Karabakh War, a Russian “peacekeeping contingent” of almost 2,000 soldiers with armored vehicles was deployed along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor.
Why did the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic cease to exist?
On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan announced the start of an “anti-terrorist operation” in Nagorno-Karabakh to “restore constitutional order.” After a day of fighting and shelling, the unrecognized NKR capitulated, and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, announced the restoration of the country’s sovereignty. On September 20, Azerbaijan put forward demands — the dissolution of the government of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the disarmament of all its formations. After that, the forces of the NKR began to hand over equipment and weapons, and the Armenians leave Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan began the reintegration of the region, and on January 1, 2024, the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic officially ceased to exist.
Christian Armenia and Muslim Azerbaijan have been arguing over Nagorno-Karabakh for more than a century. Each of the countries considers the district to be its historical territory, each has its own arguments and interpretation of history. After the 1991-1993 war and the signed peace agreement, Nagorno-Karabakh became an unrecognized republic that was de facto controlled by Armenia, and de jure it was part of Azerbaijan.
