Russian troops depart Nagorno-Karabakh, peacekeeping mission ends

Wednesday marked the day the last Russian soldiers left Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense announced the conclusion of the process of withdrawing the Kremlin's peacekeeping contingent.

The Russians withdrew all their personnel, equipment, and weapons from Nagorno-Karabakh. This retreat of the so-called peacekeeping forces marked the end of a mission that the Kremlin started in the autumn of 2020.

The first Karabakh war, spanning the late 1980s and early 1990s, ended with a peace agreement in 1994, but in 2020, new clashes erupted, referred to as the second Karabakh war. Azerbaijan controlled approximately 29 square miles of the unrecognized state's territory.

After a few weeks, fighting ceased with another agreement mediated by Russia. Supported by Turkey, Azerbaijan regained territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh and the southern part of the disputed region, including Shusha.

Azerbaijan also received permission to connect its territory with Nakhchivan via a corridor, and a corridor was established linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia's territory.

The Azerbaijani offensive and the subsequent ceasefire dissolved the state structures of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh on 1 January 2024. Accordingly, in mid-April, the Kremlin announced the withdrawal of its troops.

This does not mean, however, that the Russian mission ended the centuries-long conflicts. The second Nagorno-Karabakh war, also known as the 44-Day War, did not resolve the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The region still might be a ticking time bomb.