BAKU, May 15. /TASS/. Russian peacekeepers did their job in ensuring peace and stability in Karabakh, Colonel General Karim Valiyev, Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, has said.

"The Russian peacekeeping contingent has made efforts to ensure peace and stability in the territory of the Karabakh economic region. I congratulate you on the mission completion. I thank you for your valiant service aimed at ensuring peace and stability in Karabakh," Valiyev said at a solemn ceremony dedicated to the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from the territory of Azerbaijan.

The chief of the General Staff noted that after the signing of the trilateral ceasefire statement by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia in November 2020, the conflict in Karabakh was finally put to an end.

"In September 2023, anti-terrorist measures of local character were carried out, as a result of which the separatist regime ceased to exist and the remnants of Armenian armed formations were finally withdrawn from the territory of Azerbaijan. Considering the current situation, the highest Azerbaijani and Russian leaders made a decision on early completion of the peacekeeping mission," Valiyev recalled.

On April 17, Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said that the leaders of Azerbaijan and Russia decided to withdraw the Russian peacekeeping contingent from Karabakh ahead of schedule. He noted that the defense ministries of the two countries are taking relevant measures to implement this decision.

The Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed in Karabakh according to the statement signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia on November 9, 2020. It had 1,960 servicemen with small arms, 90 armored personnel carriers, 380 units of equipment. The term of the contingent's stay was set for five years with automatic extension for another five-year period, unless either side declares six months before the expiration of the term its intention to terminate the application of this provision.