TEHRAN, April 17 (MNA) – The Kremlin confirmed Azerbaijani media reports on Wednesday that Russian peacekeepers have started withdrawing from Nagorno-Karabakh after Baku's forces seized the disputed region from Armenian separatists last year. “Yes, that’s really true,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters after the Azerbaijani news website Musavat reported on the Russian pullout Tuesday, Moscow Times reports.

Unverified footage shared on Azeri-language social media claimed to show a convoy of Russian-flagged military vehicles moving out of the North Caucasus region.

Russia in November 2020 deployed around 2,000 military personnel and 90 armored personnel carriers to Nagorno-Karabakh after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a Moscow-brokered deal to end weeks of fierce fighting.

The Russian peacekeepers’ role came under scrutiny for refusing to interfere as Azerbaijan completed its takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh in a lightning one-day offensive in September 2023.

MNA/PR