Baku and Yerevan have both denied Moscow’s assertions that Azerbaijani troops have withdrawn from areas in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Yesterday (27 March), the Russian Ministry of Defence issued a statement saying that Azerbaijani troops had been withdrawn from the Furukh settlement of Nagorono-Karabakh after talks were held with both sides. It noted that Azerbaijan had again violated the ceasefire, as a result of which four people (two on each side) had been wounded. The statement also read: “in cooperation with representatives of the parties to the conflict, the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent has stabilised the situation”.
However, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence responded to these claims yesterday evening, stating that the points made by Russia were "untrue". It noted that there had been “no change in the positions of the Azerbaijani Army in the village of Farrukh, which is part of the sovereign territories of our country, and in the surrounding highlands”.
The Ministry also denied the Russian claims that Azerbaijan had once again violated the ceasefire, and that any of its troops had been injured.
Yerevan was also quick to note that it did not agree with Russia’s statements concerning the withdrawal. The Armenian Foreign Ministry noted “with satisfaction” that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs had made a clear assessment that the recent escalation was “a consequence of the movement of Azerbaijani troops”. However, in the statement published earlier today, it added that “the incursion of Azerbaijani units into Nagorno-Karabakh in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent continues”. It then called on Russia to take “concrete steps” to stop any further advances and to push Baku to fully withdraw its troops.