INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Kremlin confirmed Azerbaijani media reports on Wednesday that Russian peacekeepers have started withdrawing from Nagorno-Karabakh after
November 2020 deployed around 2,000 military personnel and 90 armored personnel carriers to Nagorno-Karabakh after Armenia and Azerbaijan
interfere as Azerbaijan completed its takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh in a lightning one-day offensive in September 2023.The offensive
triggered a refugee crisis of nearly the entire population of 100,000 ethnic Armenians leaving the region for Armenia.The territory is
internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but was home to a majority Armenian population and controlled by pro-Yerevan separatists
for nearly three decades.The conflict has ruptured ties between traditional allies Russia and Armenia, with Moscow maintaining warm
relations with Azerbaijan
Arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan are currently trying to broker a broader peace agreement that could see Baku gain control of yet more
disputed territory.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said recently that Yerevan had de facto suspended its participation in the
support his country in the face of what he says is Azerbaijani aggression.AFP contributed reporting.
