Russian troops start to withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh

Russian troops start to withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh

Subject: IR

Sec: Places in news

Context:

• Russian peacekeepers have started withdrawing from Nagorno-Karabakh following the territory’s recapture by Azerbaijan from Armenian separatists.
• The withdrawal follows a 2020 Moscow-brokered ceasefire between Azerbaijan (Baku) and Armenia (Yerevan).

About the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict:

• Nagorno-Karabakh (also known as Artsakh by Armenians) is a mountainous region in the Caucasus, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but predominantly inhabited by ethnic Armenians.
• It has an unrecognised government with close ties to Armenia.
• The conflict started in the late 1980s when the region declared independence from Azerbaijan amid the Soviet Union’s collapse.
• A war ensued, ending in a 1994 ceasefire with Nagorno-Karabakh and some surrounding areas under Armenian control.
• Despite the ceasefire, violations were frequent, and peace negotiations often failed.
• In 2020, Azerbaijan regained significant territory in the Second Karabakh War.
• A peace deal was brokered by Russia in 2020, leading to the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region.

Azerbaijan:

• A country located in Asia, bordered by Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Iran, with the Caspian Sea to the east.
• Its landscape features the Caucasus Mountains covering much of the north and west.
• Baku is the capital city.
• The nation is rich in oil and natural gas resources. A notable attraction is Yanar Dag, where natural gas seepages have fueled a continuous fire for over 65 years, earning Azerbaijan the nickname “The Land of Fire.”

Armenia:

• A landlocked country in the Caucasus with Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, and Azerbaijan to the east.
• Capital: Yerevan.
• Armenia is a mountainous country.
• Highest Peak: Mount Ararat.

Source: TH