It's a peacekeeping mission that Russia had a mandate under the ceasefire agreement. The departure of Russian peacekeepers from Nagorno-Karabakh means that Azerbaijan will regain sovereignty over the rebellious region. Azerbaijan managed to regain almost all of the lost territories with the exception of the central part of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor leading to Armenia. Russia is no longer interested in protecting the region from Azerbaijan.
Russia will pull out all of its nearly 2,000 troops from Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region, the Kremlin said in a surprise announcement just six months after they watched a forced mass exodus of the region’s Armenian population.
Under the terms of a
2020 cease-fire between Azerbaijan and Armenia, 1,960 Russian soldiers as well as hundreds of units of armored personnel carriers and other military equipment were stationed in the region. They had a peacekeeping mandate until at least the end of 2025, but Moscow is directing all available resources into its war on Ukraine.
Moscow’s forces stood by as Azerbaijan launched an offensive to take back the region last year.
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