Russia, Azerbaijan preparing to talk peacekeepers' deployment

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mikhail Evdokimov has said that Moscow and Baku are working to agree on the dates of the next round of negotiations on matters regarding the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh.

After a statement was signed by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan in November 2020 to end the war in Karabakh, Russian peacekeepers were deployed for a period of five years to protect the local Armenian population. Azerbaijan, however, launched a large-scale offensive in September 2023 and forcibly deported the entire indigenous population of Karabakh, without interference from the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

In an interview with Izvestia published on Sunday, February 11, Evdokimov claimed that the peacekeepers “effectively performed their functions, on the one hand, protecting the territory of Azerbaijan, on the other, of course, for the Armenian population it was important that Russian peacekeepers were present there to ensure their safety.”

Now, the ambassador maintained, the Russian peacekeepers patrol the territory, protect buildings and cultural structures in Karabakh.

“The dates of the next round of negotiations between Moscow and Baku on our peacekeeping contingent are currently being agreed upon with the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry; the terms of [the peacekeepers'] stay expires in 2025,” he added.