11 November 2020

Russia sends peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh after brokering ceasefire

by Nicholas Fiorenza & Miko Vranic

Russian peacekeepers have arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh after Moscow brokered a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed enclave. President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced in a joint statement on 10 November the ceasefire and complete cessation of hostilities at midnight Moscow time. They said a 1,960-strong Russian peacekeeping force with 90 armoured personnel carriers and 380 other vehicles would be deployed along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor.

Vehicles from Russia’s 15th Independent Motorised Rifle (Peacekeeping) Brigade unloading from Il-76 transport aircraft after arriving in Armenia. (Russian MoD)

The Russian Ministry of Defence published images on its website on 11 November showing Il-76 transport aircraft taking off from Ulyanovsk-Vostochny airbase and being unloaded in Armenia, as well as vehicles arriving in Nagorno-Karabakh in darkness. The troops are from the 15th Independent Motorised Rifle (Peacekeeping) Brigade from the Central Military District’s 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army at Roshchinsky.

The joint Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani statement said that the Russian peacekeepers would be deployed as the Armenia-backed Nagorno-Karabakh forces withdraw and would stay in the disputed enclave for five years, with the possibility of a five-year extension. A ceasefire peacekeeping centre will also be deployed to monitor implementation of the agreement.

Armenia agreed to return districts of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan by December and to build roads to keep lines of communication open. The two countries pledged to exchange prisoners and the dead and to allow displaced persons and refugees to return to Nagorno-Karabakh under the supervision of the UN High Commisioner for Refugees.

Russian peacekeepers have arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh after Moscow brokered a ceasefire between Arme...

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