Armenia has denounced the peacekeepers for their failure to prevent or stop the September 19-20 offensive that restored Azerbaijan’s full control over Karabakh. President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have rejected the criticism.
The chief of the Russian army’s General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, also praised the peacekeepers. Meeting with Moscow-based foreign military attachés, he said that the 2,000-strong contingent swiftly halted the September hostilities before ensuring Karabakh Armenians’ “safe departure” to Armenia.
“Our military contingent continues to carry out tasks as a guarantor of the possibility of building a peaceful life and the return of residents to the region,” added Gerasimov.
Even before their exodus, Karabakh’s leaders and ordinary residents made clear that they would not live under Azerbaijani rule. More than 100,000 of them took refuge in Armenia in late September.
The peacekeepers have since dismantled most of their observation posts along the Karabakh “line of contact” that existed until the Azerbaijani assault. A senior Russian diplomat said in early October that they should remain in the region because their mission “will also be necessary in the future.”
Putin and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev discussed the issue when they met in Kyrgyzstan four days later. They announced no agreements on the future of the Russian presence in Karabakh.