BAKU/YEREVAN/APRIL 22 2024 (The Bulletin) — Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s president, flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin, Russia’s leader, five days after the Kremlin pulled 2,000 Russian soldiers out of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Under a 2020 peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the soldiers had a mandate to remain in the disputed region until 2025 but the Kremlin said that they were no longer needed.
“Geopolitical realities in the region have changed and there are no more operational functions left for them,” said Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman. Instead, the soldiers will redeploy to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In the Kremlin, Mr Aliyev and Mr Putin shook hands and smiled warmly for the camera. They said that they had discussed “regional security” but did not reference Nagorno-Karabakh or the war in Ukraine.
Analysts have said that Russia’s withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh either represents a weakening of the Kremlin’s influence in the region or the emergence of a security pact between Baku and Moscow.
Armenian officials have accused Russia of betrayal and Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian PM, has said that he wants to leave the Kremlin’s CSTO security pact.
Azerbaijan recaptured the whole of Nagorno-Karabakh in September when a lightning-quick strike grabbed Stepanakert, the rebel capital. Around 120,000 ethnic Armenians fled after the attack and Yerevan has accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing.
On April 16, Armenia lodged an ethnic cleansing case against Azerbaijan with the Hague-based International Court of Justice.
Armenia has also agreed to transfer four villages demanded by Azerbaijan, a move described as an important milestone towards peace. Mr Aliyev had demanded the villages because he said that, historically, they were Azerbaijani.
The decision to hand over the villages has triggered protests but the Armenian government said it cuts the risk of war with Azerbaijan.
ENDS
— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024
— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024
