Peacekeeping operations in Nagorno-Karabakh

After the war, in accordance to the ceasefire agreement signed on 10 November 2020, Russia sent a peacekeeping contingent of 1,960 servicemen, provided by the 15th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade of the Russian Ground Forces, and led by Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov, to the region.

On 11 November, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Russia and Turkey to create a Russian-Turkish Joint Monitoring Centre (RTJMC) near Marzili in Aghdam, Azerbaijan.

The blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh drew international criticism and raised doubts in the ability and willingness of the peacekeepers to fulfil their mission to ensure freedom and security of movement along the Lachin corridor in line with the trilateral ceasefire agreement of 9 November 2020.

In September 2023 Russian peacekeepers did not intervene as Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive to seize the region, which resulted in mass exodus and near-complete emptying of its Armenian population.

[18] The peacekeeping forces, headquartered near Stepanakert, established observation posts along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor according to Russian state outlet TASS.

[32][33] According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, the RTJMC will operate remotely, using drones and other technical means to monitor possible violations.

[36] The Turkish officers arrived in Azerbaijan on 30 January 2021,[37] and the RTJMC was opened near Marzili in Aghdam on the same day according to Russian state media TASS.

There is a water station, a transformer, a generator, a parking lot, two outdoor sports camps, as well as two indoor gyms, food and cold storage in the area.

The villages of Chaylaggala (Khtsaberd) and Hin Tagher (Kohne Taghlar) as well as the Katarovank monastery, became an Artsakh holdout in the Hadrut Province during the war.

Also, according to the ministry, on 8 December, one Azerbaijani serviceman was killed and an Azercell employee was seriously injured during the installation of communication facilities and transmission equipment near Hadrut.

[46][47] The following day, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev reiterated the Azerbaijani media reports, calling the incident an "act of terrorism" and[48] threatening to crush Armenian forces with an "iron fist".

[53] The Armenian President, Armen Sarksyan stated that Hin Tagher had been captured by Azerbaijani forces on 12 December, continuing their advance towards Chaylaggala.

[68][69] The Artsakh Foreign Ministry stated that the purpose of the shooting was to not only trigger a "mass emigration" of Karabakh Armenians but also undermine the Russian peacekeeping mission.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia accused Baku of violating the terms of a Russian-brokered ceasefire and demanded a "proper investigation" into Tepnants’s death.

[68] The Russian defence ministry said that on 13 October 2021, in the area of the Sarsang Reservoir, a convoy of construction equipment of Azerbaijan, which followed the Madagiz-Getavan-Vank route in Artsakh, was fired upon.

[78][79] The Ministry of Defense of Artsakh reported the death of three servicemen as a result of drone attack: Davit Mirzoyan, Ishkhan Ohanyan and Ararat Tevosyan.

[85]Since 12 December 2022, citizens of Azerbaijan claiming to be "eco-activists" started protests on the Lachin corridor,[86] thus effectively blocking the only road connecting Artsakh to the outside world and to Armenia[87] in violation of the trilateral ceasefire agreement of 9 November 2020.

Although the Azerbaijanis claim to have peaceful intentions, their blockade is causing severe consequences for the population; importation of food, fuel, and medicine is blocked, and the 120,000 residents of the region are trapped, creating a humanitarian crisis.

The Russian peacekeepers also confirmed that Azerbaijani forces had "crossed the line of contact in the district of Shusha, in violation" of the November 9 agreement,[93] occupied a strategic height northeast of Mount Sarybaba and brought engineering equipment to the post.

The statement said that "The Azerbaijani side has been requested to comply with the provisions of the tripartite agreements of the heads of state, take measures to stop engineering work and withdraw units of the national armed forces to their previously occupied positions".

[94] The Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan in response claimed that their forces took "necessary local control measures to suppress the transportation of ammunition and other military means" using the dirt roads north of the Lachin corridor.

Nazim Jafarsoy, the deputy chair of the Caucasus International Relations and Strategic Studies Centre accused the Russian peacekeepers of causing the "continuation of the illegal military forces' presence in the region rather than providing peace between the Armenians and the Azerbaijanis."

[132] On 7 January, the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev denounced the Armenian minister of foreign affairs, Ara Ayvazyan, for his recent visit to the Nagorno-Karabakh, calling it a "provocative step" and adding that if continued, "Armenia will regret even more."

[133] Despite allegations of being pro-Armenian, Armenian locals and officials from Artsakh have claimed that the Russian peacekeepers are profiting from Azerbaijan's ongoing blockade of the region, by charging several thousand dollars per vehicle of essential goods.

[138] This statement was followed by more harsh criticism from the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stating that Maria Zakharova echoed Baku’s regular justifications of its “aggressive actions against Armenia’s borders”, pointing to the "contradiction" that a non-delimited border makes the peacekeepers' actions even less reasonable and urging to "implement their commitments, instead of seeking justifications" in view of the ongoing Lachin corridor blockade.

[143] On 2 January 2021, the Turkish pro-government[144] newspaper, Yeni Şafak, reported that Russia had violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement, sending over five thousand people to the region "under the name of soldiers, civil servants, technical experts, doctors, nurses and construction workers.

[147] The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan only acknowledged the planned parade on 8 May, the day before it was scheduled to take place, reiterating that the troops were in the region in accordance with the agreement.

"[154] The U.S. Helsinki Commission also criticised Russian peacekeepers role in the blockade of Artsakh: "This disturbing situation is further evidence that Russia is neither a reliable security provider nor a legitimate broker for peace in the South Caucasus".

[92] The Dutch Parliament in a resolution on the Lachin corridor blockade stated that: "Russian peacekeepers do not intervene in that area, and that this situation threatens to create a humanitarian emergency for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"[156] Senior EU official blamed the Russian peacekeeping mission for green-lighting "Azerbaijan's blitzkrieg against Armenians" in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, to destabilise Armenia and achieve change of leadership and of the current democratically elected prime minister "to be replaced by a pro-Russian figure".