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Russian helicopters to be involved in peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh

The helicopters will monitor the ceasefire and military operations control areas in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone
Mi-8 helicopter Vitaliy Nevar/TASS
Mi-8 helicopter
© Vitaliy Nevar/TASS

MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. The Russian Aerospace Forces’ Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters will monitor the cessation of hostilities areas in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters on Thursday.

"Helicopters will be involved in the peacekeeping operation to monitor the ceasefire and military operations control areas in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone," the ministry said.

According to the Defense Miknistry, helicopters will also be involved in transporting materiel and peacekeepers to hard to reach areas.

The helicopters were airlifted to Yerevan’s airfield aboard the An-124 Ruslan military transport aircraft.

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region. Besides, Baku and Yerevan must exchange prisoners and the bodies of those killed.

On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that a memorandum on setting up a joint Russian-Turkish center to monitor the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh had been signed following online negotiations between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar. It will be located in Azerbaijan.