Russian-Azerbaijani Relations Are Not Smooth; Azerbaijan Has Yet to Confirm Peacekeeping Mission Mandate - Abrahamyan

The Russian Federation is intensively completing the construction and gathering of military enclaves designated for the peacekeeping contingent deployed in Artsakh. This is how it is firmly establishing its presence, as noted by Tigran Abrahamyan, the head of the ‘Henaket’ Analytical Center, on his Facebook page.

“At the same time, despite Azerbaijan’s signature under the trilateral statement of November 10, Azerbaijan has yet to confirm/ratify the mandate of the Russian peacekeeping mission. The fact that Russian-Azerbaijani relations, feeling the breath of Turkey behind them, are not as smooth as often attempted to be presented by the official circles of Russia and Azerbaijan is already quite evident,” the post states.

“The Azerbaijani provocations registered in the Russian-controlled zone—from the delay in the repatriation of captives to the direct and indirect texts characterizing Russia's presence in Artsakh as strictly temporary and the contradictory developments around the ‘Iskander’—all indicate this. Overall, numerous violations of the agreements reached on November 10 and January 11 suggest that Turkey and Azerbaijan, with the intervention of third countries, are doing everything to reduce the Russian factor in the process and promote the Turkish agenda in the region,” he added.