Russia Begins Withdrawing Peacekeepers From Flashpoint Region of Azerbaijan

Departure coincides with Western efforts to lure Armenia, Azerbaijan’s perennial foe, away from its longstanding alliance with Moscow.

Armenian soldiers patrol at the checkpoint near a demarcation line outside Askeran, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a Russia-brokered cease-fire on Nov. 9, 2020, ending six weeks of fighting in the self-proclaimed republic, on Nov. 21, 2020. Andrey Borodulin/AFP via Getty Images

Russian peacekeepers have begun pulling out from Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region after a four-year deployment, according to both Azerbaijani and Russian officials.

“The early withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers ... has been decided by the leaders of both countries,” Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, said on April 17.