ArmInfo. The withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping troops stationed in Artsakh for a period of five years after the tripartite declaration of November 9 gives rise to deep concerns and causes contradictions in the context of regional developments. This is stated in the statement of the "We are" civil initiative.
The statement reads as follows: "In such a way, the positioning of the guarantor of peace and security ultimately fails and opens a new door for Azerbaijani crimes. A few days ago, the removal of the International Committee of the Red Cross and now the peacekeepers frees Azerbaijan, acting outside of civilized norms, from any restraint mechanism and allows unfettered actions to eliminate everything Armenian. It is obvious that with all this, new grounds are being created for cultural genocide and, in general, the cancellation of all the rights of Artsakh citizens, including property and ownership. The civil initiative "We Are" considers that with such a policy, the Russian Federation contributes to Aliyev's permissiveness and the behavior of "digesting" Azerbaijani crimes. The people of Artsakh unconditionally believed and accepted the Russian mission to protect them, which was defeated by ethnic cleansing in 2023. And with the decision to leave the territory early, the importance of discussing such issues with Artsakh society and state institutions was ignored. At the same time, we consider the ongoing process as a global challenge and call on all poles of the world to prevent visible and invisible attempts to put a tombstone on the Artsakh issue."
The Russian peacekeeping contingent (RPC) was deployed in Artsakh after a trilateral statement signed on November 9, 2020 between the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. The statement stopped the war initiated by the Azerbaijani-Turkish tandem against Artsakh. In accordance with the agreements, 1,960 military personnel with small arms, 90 armored personnel carriers and 380 units of automobile and special equipment were sent there. It was planned to deploy peacekeepers in the region for five years - until 2025. After last year's September aggression by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, against the backdrop of the inaction of the entire international community, and the mass exodus of Artsakhis, the need for peacekeepers was completely eliminated.
The Kremlin has already confirmed the fact that the process of withdrawing RPC forces from occupied Artsakh has begun. And in Baku they reported that this decision was adopted at the level of the leaders of Russia and Azerbaijan. The Russian military is withdrawing from the territory of Azerbaijan, according to the media, through Dagestan.