Russia withdraws forces from Nagorno-Karabakh amidst regional shifts

Russian forces began withdrawing from Nagorno-Karabakh. The Moscow troops had been stationed in the former Armenian enclave as part of what was described as a peacekeeping mission.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced the decision to withdraw, as the independent Russian news outlet Meduza reported.

By Tuesday, Azerbaijani media had already reported the conclusion of the Russian mission in the region. According to these reports, the withdrawal of Russian troops had been in progress for several days, Meduza reported.

The period of fragile peace in Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been maintained since 1994 despite being occasionally disrupted by sporadic armed clashes, ended in September 2020. Azerbaijan launched an operation to retake the separatist region. After six weeks of conflict, in which Baku made significant territorial advances with Turkey's support, a peace agreement was signed between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia in the early hours of November 9-10, 2020.

As per the agreement, a ceasefire was put in place, and Russian 'peacekeeping' forces were deployed to the disputed territory, where they were supposed to stay for at least five years. The contingent comprised about 2,000 soldiers.

Three years later, on September 19-20, 2023, Azerbaijan undertook a sudden military operation against Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. Following the enclave's capture by Azerbaijani armed forces, the Karabakh authorities declared the demise of the unrecognized republic effective from January 1, 2024.

Nearly all residents had evacuated the separatist region within roughly a week by the end of September. Previously, the Yerevan authorities had placed the population of Nagorno-Karabakh at around 120,000.