Foreign Ministry: the length of stay of peacekeepers in Karabakh will be determined together with Baku

Moscow will determine the length of stay of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh in contact with Baku. This was announced by official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova during a briefing.

“The timing and other issues of the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region will be determined jointly with our colleagues, as we talked about. If you are talking about the territory of Karabakh, then together with the Azerbaijani side, taking into account the situation on the ground,” she noted.

Answering a question about the possibility of the return of Karabakh Armenians who had previously left the region, Zakharova said that Moscow has information about the desire of some residents to return to Karabakh, “if conditions for this are created and their safety is ensured.” The diplomat emphasized that Russia is ready to facilitate these processes together with Baku.

At the end of September, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the further fate of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh, statedthat this issue will be discussed with Azerbaijan.

As a result of the hostilities between Baku and Yerevan in the fall of 2020, a tripartite agreement between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia was signed on November 9, 2020 on a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the document, Russian peacekeepers were stationed along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor to monitor compliance with the ceasefire. The duration of their stay in the region is five years from the date of signing the agreement, with subsequent extension for the same period, unless either party waives this provision.

On September 19, Azerbaijan announced the start of “anti-terrorist measures” necessary for the “restoration of the constitutional order” in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku demanded the dissolution of the regional government and the withdrawal of Armenian troops. Yerevan denied the presence of its troops in the region. The next day, Karabakh authorities announced the conclusion of agreements on a complete ceasefire.

September 28, President of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Samvel Shahramanyan signed decree on the termination of its existence from January 1, 2024 and the dissolution of all government structures.