Muradov left the post of commander of peacekeepers in Karabakh

A native of Dagestan, Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov has left the post of commander of the Russian peacekeepers in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Armenian Defence Ministry reported. On September 9, it was publicised that Major General Mikhail Kosobokov will replace Muradov in Nagorno-Karabakh. Kosobokov was the chief commander of the Russian military base in Georgia’s Russian backed separatist province of Abkhazia.

On November 11, 2020, it became known that a native of Dagestan, Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov led a group of Russian peacekeepers in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Immediately after Muradov’s appointment, information was published about his alleged Azerbaijani origin. Muradov, in connection with an interest in his nationality, pointed out that the Tabasarans were in no way connected with Azerbaijan, and Russian officers should follow the orders of the leadership, regardless of their origin.

Muradov was born on March 21, 1973, in the Derbent region and has been in military service since 1990. In 2017, he was a military adviser in Syria: after successfully completing an operation in the Der-ez-Zor direction, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, according to Muradov's biography.

Azerbaijan and Armenia exchanged detainees

With the support of the Russian peacekeepers, Azerbaijan returned two more Armenian detainees - Artur Nalbandyan and Aramais Torozyan. These servicemen got lost near the Black Lake at the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan on July 14. The Armenian soldiers were exchanged for Azerbaijani serviceman Jamil Babayev, arrested on August 25 in Nagorno-Karabakh, who crossed the line of contact.

In June 15 people were returned in exchange for maps of minefields in the Aghdam region and on July 3, in exchange for maps of minefields in the Fizuli and Zangilan regions, Azerbaijan returned 15 Armenian prisoners. In July, the Baku Grave Crimes Court sentenced 39 Armenian prisoners to six years in prison. On August 9, relatives of the Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan, including those convicted, went to a protest rally outside the building of the Armenian government. They stopped the picket on August 11 after meeting with Pashinyan's representative.

Armenia condemns Azeri-Turkish drills near its border

Armenia has condemned a joint exercise Azerbaijani and Turkish troops are conducting near its border in Azerbaijan's Lachin District on 7 September.

"Armenia regards the ongoing military drill by Turkish and Azerbaijani troops on the borders of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh and near the Lachin corridor as an action harming the de-escalation efforts," Armenia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan said.

"This action does not correspond to the essence of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement and disrupts the efforts to establish lasting peace, security and stability in the region," Hunanyan added.

Leyla Abdullayeva, the spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, responded that every country has the right to carry out military exercises within its internationally recognised borders, on 8 September.

"We would like to notify the Armenian Foreign Ministry that the regional peace and security is endangered not when a country carries out a military exercise on its own territory, but when a country makes territorial claims to another country, pursues a military aggression policy, keeps territories of another country under occupation and disregards the principles of international law, which Armenia has done for many years," Abdullayeva was quoted as saying.

Azerbaijani and Turkish troops started joint tactical live-fire exercises in Lachin District on 6 September.

Azerbaijan regained the Lachin District as a result of the Second Karabakh War of September-November 2020. It borders on Armenia, and the road linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh region passes through Lachin.