Kremlin confirms beginning of withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Karabakh

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Wednesday that Russia has started withdrawing its peacekeepers from the southern Caucasus region of Karabakh.

Commenting on media reports which said the withdrawal started several days ago, the official said the reports were accurate.

Azerbaijani state news agency APA said the Russian forces left the territory of the Albanian Khudavang temple in Kalbajar district several days ago.

The agency also said that the temple is currently guarded by the Azerbaijani police.

The Russian peacekeepers had been deployed in the aftermath of a fall 2020 conflict in which Azerbaijan regained much of its territory of Karabakh after nearly three decades of Armenian occupation.

Relations between Baku and Yerevan have remained tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that also opened the door to normalization.

Last September, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh following an "anti-terrorist operation" after which separatist forces in the region surrendered.