Azerbaijan troops stationed in strategically important town: Prez

Baku, Aug 27 (IANS) Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said that troops have been deployed in Lachim, a strategically important town that was formerly controlled by neighbouring Armenia."Today, 26 August, we Azerbaijanis returned to the town of Lachin," Aliyev tweeted on Friday.The Lachin corridor, a 6-km road connecting Armenia and the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, runs through the town, with both nations laying claim to the territory, reports dpa news agency.In a brief war in late 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been under Armenian control for decades. Armenia also lost Lachin.A ceasefire is currently being policed by Russian troops, though there are sporadic armed clashes.Lachin has since been under Russia's temporary control after Moscow mediated in the conflict then dispatched its troops to monitor the ceasefire.The ceasefire agreement stipulated that Lachin should be handed over to Azerbaijani soldiers although it is not currently clear whether all the conditions have yet been met.Some observers say Azerbaijan sent its troops into Lachin to take advantage of the fact that Moscow is involved in the Ukraine war, and the international community's attention is focused elsewhere.
--IANS ksk/

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