ArmInfo. The withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers (RPC) from Nagorno-Karabakh is a logical consequence of Pashinyan's recognition of this territory as part of Azerbaijan. This was stated by the head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin.
"I think that this is an absolutely logical consequence of the recognition by the leader of Armenia of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan," Karasin told Interfax.
According to him, in this case "you won't be nice by force." "The fact is that after the settlement of the Karabakh issue by Nikol Pashinyan's statement, who said that it is the territory of Azerbaijan, the issue of the presence of our peacekeepers was resolved in direct contact with the leadership of Azerbaijan. And a decision was made to gradually take them out of there," he said.
The Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed in Artsakh based on 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 generally disappeared.
The Kremlin has already confirmed the fact that the process of withdrawing RPC troops from occupied Artsakh has begun. And Baku reported that this decision was taken at the level of the heads of Russia and Azerbaijan. According to the media sources, the Russian troops is withdrawing from the territory of Azerbaijan through Dagestan.