Media reports claim Russia started withdrawal of its peacekeepers from Karabakh

Russia has started the withdrawal of its peacekeepers from the southern Caucasus region of Karabakh, Azerbaijani state news agency APA said on Wednesday.

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

"Thus, the process of withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping contingent from the territory of Azerbaijan began," it said.

The agency said the temple is currently being guarded by the Azerbaijani forces.

Russian officials have yet to comment on the reports.

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.