A new commander has been appointed to the Russian peacekeeping contingent temporarily serving in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The change in command is in accordance with the planned rotation. It is reported that the handover is underway. Lieutenant-General Gennady Anashkin will be replaced by Major General Andrei Volkov.

Andrei Volkov was the deputy to lieutenant general Rustam Muradov, who led the peacekeeping contingent from November 2020 to May 2021.

He is currently the head of the radiation, chemical and biological defence troops of the Southern Military District of the Russian Defence Ministry.

Rustam Muradov was the first commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh, and he recently completed his mission. Afterwards, Major General Mikhail Kosobokov was appointed to the post.

Recall that Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on November 9 signed a joint statement on the complete cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, which began on September 27 and lasted 44 days. Russian peacekeepers are stationed in the conflict region.