Russian forces have withdrawn from Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where they had been stationed to ensure peace since the end of the 2020 war. This withdrawal was confirmed by officials from both countries. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the news of the Russian troops’ withdrawal, but gave no further details. The head of foreign policy in Azerbaijan’s presidential administration, Hikmet Hajiyev, also confirmed the withdrawal and explained that it was agreed between the two countries. However, Hajiyev did not specify the reason for the withdrawal of Russian forces.
Last year, Azerbaijan regained full control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Until then, the tasks of Russian soldiers included ensuring free passage on the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
Azerbaijan began blocking this road at the end of 2022, claiming that Armenians were using it to transport weapons, accusing Russian forces of allowing this traffic. After months of increasing shortages of food and medicine in the breakaway region due to the blockade, Azerbaijan launched a lightning bombardment in September 2023, forcing the Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh to capitulate after a day of negotiations mediated by Russia. Almost all of Nagorno-Karabakh’s 50,000 ethnic Armenians fled the region within days.
