YEREVAN, /ARKA/. Armenia’s Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan received on Thursday the newly appointed commander of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Major General Mikhail Kosobokov, and the commander of the 102nd Russian military base in Armenia, Colonel Dmitry Ovcharov, the Armenian Defense Ministry reported.
The meeting was also attended by the Military Attaché of the Russian Embassy in Armenia, Colonel Igor Shcherbakov.
Kosobokov has replaced Rustam Muradov, who was appointed commander of the Russian peacekeeping force immediately after last autumn’s war in Artsakh.
Minister Karapetyan was said to highly appreciate the efforts of the Russian Federation aimed at stabilizing the military-political situation in the region, as well as the process and effectiveness of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Artsakh. During the meeting, opinions were exchanged on the problems of regional security.
On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijani armed forces, backed by Turkey and foreign mercenaries and terrorists, attacked Nagorno-Karabakh along the entire front line using rocket and artillery weapons, heavy armored vehicles, military aircraft and prohibited types of weapons such as cluster bombs and phosphorus weapons.
After 44 days of the war, on November 9, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a statement on the cessation of all hostilities. According to the document, the town of Shushi, the districts of Agdam, Kelbajar and Lachin were handed over to Azerbaijan, with the exception of a 5-kilometer corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia.
A Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed along the contact line in Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor.