Karabakh denies Russia withdrawing part of peacekeeping forces

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Security Council of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) has denied reports coming from Azerbaijan and alleging that the Russian peacekeeping contingent is withdrawing part of its forces from Karabakh and relocating them to Ukraine.

The peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation stationed in Artsakh continues to carry out its mission, in accordance with the provisions of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, the Security Council said in a statement on Thursday, March 10.

"The aggressive behavior of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the Artsakh-Azerbaijani line of contact in recent days has been manifested by shelling of the positions of the Artsakh Defense Army located near various settlements," the statement read.

The use of mortars has already been added to such armed provocations. We emphasize that the target of hostile actions is the civilian population, which is done in order to cause panic,” the message says.

The statement came amid Azerbaijan's ceasefire violations in Nagorno-Karabakh, which left one civilian injured on Thursday. According to Armenian Human Rights Defender Kristinne Grigoryan, Baku has also accumulated tanks near the village of Khramort, after intimidating the residents for weeks on end.