Brussels “takes note” of the announced withdrawal of Russian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh, a European Union official has said.
“What we can say is that we take note of the announced withdrawal of Russian troops from Azerbaijan. We further add that the EU remains committed to supporting the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Peter Stano, lead spokesperson for the EU’s Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said as quoted by Azerbaijan’s Turan news agency on Thursday.
Moscow and Baku confirmed on April 17 the start of the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Nagorno-Karabakh where about 2,000 of them were deployed since November 2020 as part of a trilateral ceasefire agreement also including Yerevan that put an end to a six-week Armenian-Azerbaijani war over the region that was then mostly populated by ethnic Armenians.
The Russian peacekeepers were deployed for a period of five years, with the possibility of further extending their stay, to protect the local Armenian population as well as a vital corridor connecting the region with Armenia after the cessation of hostilities that saw Azerbaijan regaining control over all seven districts around Nagorno-Karabakh as well as capturing chunks of the former autonomous oblast proper.
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Azerbaijan, however, established its presence on the road known as the Lachin Corridor in late 2022 and effectively took it under its own control the following year, imposing a 10-month-long blockade on Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians.
Russian peacekeepers’ continued presence in the region became a moot point after more than 100,000 Armenians, virtually the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh, left their homes and moved to Armenia following Azerbaijan’s one-day military operation in the region last September.
Hikmet Hajiyev, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s top foreign policy aide, confirmed earlier this week that “the decision on the early withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers was made by the leaders of both countries.”
“The process has already begun. The defense ministries of Azerbaijan and Russia are taking necessary steps to implement this decision,” he added on April 17.
Citing sources at the Ministry of Defense of Turkey, Azerbaijani media also reported earlier this week that the joint Russian-Turkish monitoring center set up in Agdam in January 2021 would also cease its activities.
Yerevan has blamed the Russian peacekeepers for failing to defend the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Russia, for its part, has blamed Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian for recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan at negotiations mediated by Western powers, a claim repeatedly dismissed by Armenian officials.
Baku has all along insisted that Karabakh is an Azerbaijani territory where Russian peacekeepers are stationed only “on a temporary basis.”
Official Yerevan has not yet commented on the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Nagorno-Karabakh where only about a dozen ethnic Armenians remain.
Commenting on the development at a press briefing in Washington on April 17, Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, reminded that the United States was not party to the negotiated trilateral arrangement that ended the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and established Russian troops in that region.
“Frankly, we’ve not seen anything to indicate that Russia’s military was contributing to a more peaceful and stable South Caucasus region, and the events in Nagorno-Karabakh over the course of this past fall are pretty indicative of that point, and it’s another highlight or example of how Russia is not a trustworthy ally or partner,” he said.
“Beyond that, we strongly support efforts by Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a durable and dignified peace, and we stand ready to continue to help facilitate this process,” Patel said.
