BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 26. The process of complete withdrawal from the territory of the country of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation temporarily deployed in the Karabakh Economic Region of the Republic of Azerbaijan has begun, First Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of General Staff of the Azerbaijani Army, Colonel General Karim Valiyev said, TurkicWorld reports.
He made the remark during the closing ceremony of the Joint Turkish-Russian Monitoring Center organized by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.
The Chief of General Staff expressed gratitude to the servicemen of Türkiye and Russia for their diligent and courageous service for peace and stability in the region.
To note, following the memorandum signed between the Republic of Türkiye and the Russian Federation, the Turkish-Russian Joint Monitoring Center was established on January 30, 2021, in the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam to control the ceasefire regime in the Karabakh region and prevent violations of the law.
Azerbaijan has restored its sovereignty over the entire territory of the country as a result of anti-terrorist activities of a local nature carried out by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in Karabakh on September 19–20, 2023. Since the Russian peacekeeping contingent started leaving the Karabakh region a few days ago, there is no need for the activity of this center.
The Turkish Ministry of National Defense circulated information on April 18 that the activity of the Joint Turkish-Russian Monitoring Center located in Aghdam would be suspended.
