After Azerbaijan carried out anti-terrorist measures in Karabakh in the fall of 2023, the need for the Russian peacekeeping contingent (RPC) to stay in the region disappeared.

Axar.az reports that the director of the Institute of Political Studies, political scientist Sergey Markov told.

"The withdrawal of the RPC from Karabakh is carried out entirely by the agreements between Russia and Azerbaijan. Russian peacekeepers fully fulfilled their obligations. This commitment consisted primarily of resolving the conflict between the parties after the Sochi agreements. After the implementation of anti-terrorist measures in Karabakh by the Azerbaijani authorities, the situation changed completely, as a result, the Armenian troops surrendered and were withdrawn from the region. Therefore, the need to resolve the conflict between the parties has disappeared," said the political scientist.

Markov reminded that the Armenian side organized the evacuation of the peaceful Armenian population from Karabakh. "For a while, the RPC had to stay in the territory of Karabakh, but the contingent had nothing to do there. The peacekeepers continued to stay there because the Azerbaijani authorities hoped that a part of the Armenian civilian population would return to Karabakh. However, the Armenian authorities created numerous obstacles in this regard, began to frighten the peaceful Armenian population, and started a harsh anti-Azerbaijani campaign. As a result, it became clear that there would be no mass return. Based on these conditions, the Russian peacekeepers decided to leave the region," the expert added.