Yesterday (9 September) the Armenian minister of defence, Arshak Karapetyan, met with the newly appointed commander of the Russian military contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh, Major General Mikhail Kosobokov, at the Armenian Ministry of Defence in Yerevan. Kosobokov was accompanied by the newly appointed commander of the 102nd Russian military base in Armenia, Colonel Dmitry Ovcharov. Karapetyan reportedly congratulated both men on their appointments, wishing Kosobokov success and stressing to Ovcharov the role and significance of the Russian division stationed in the territory of Armenia. The Armenian defence minister praised Russia’s efforts aimed at stabilising the military-political situation in the region, as well as the effectiveness of its peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Three days earlier, on 6 September, Karapetyan had met with the outgoing commander of the Russian military contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh, Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov. He reportedly thanked Muradov for his efforts to maintain the peace and wished him success in his future activities.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MOD) today (10 September) reported that the Azerbaijani defence minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, had also held a meeting with the incoming Kosobokov and outgoing Muradov. The men reportedly discussed the latest situation in the areas where the Russian troops are deployed.
As part of the 10 November trilateral agreement between the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia, which ended the 44-day war, 1960 armed Russian servicemen were deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh on a peacekeeping mission. The mission has been headed by Muradov since last November.